特朗普的监听指控威胁美政府体制

President Donald Trump has thrown the US government into crisis by accusing his predecessor, Barack Obama, of wiretapping his phones during the election campaign. That the accusation was made in an early-morning tweet does not make the situation any less serious. Nor does the fact that Mr Trump has tweeted nonsense in the past. His false claim that millions of people voted illegally in November’s election was not a direct and specific allegation against a sitting president. The sources of and evidence for this accusation against Mr Obama must now be established. If they are not, the claims can only have a corrosive effect on trust in the institutions of government, without which the country cannot function.

美国总统唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)指责其前任巴拉克?奥巴马(Barack Obama)在大选期间监听他的电话，此事令美国政府陷入危机。这份指控出现在特朗普凌晨发布的推文中，但这丝毫无损于情况的严肃性。同样无损于这一点的是：特朗普曾经在推文中胡说八道过。他曾错误地宣称数百万人在去年11月的大选中非法投票，但那并非针对一位在任总统的直接而具体的指控。现在必须确定针对奥巴马的这一指控的来源和证据。如果不确定这两点，那么这番言论只能破坏人们对政府体制的信任，没有这一体制，这个国家将无法运转。

The response of the president’s spokespeople has made the situation more opaque and therefore more urgent. They argue that the president’s statements are based on stories that have been widely reported. The problem is that the stories in question do not support Mr Trump’s assertions.

特朗普发言人的回应让情况变得更加扑朔迷离，因此也更显紧迫。他们辩称，特朗普的说法基于被广泛报道的新闻。问题是这些新闻并没有支撑特朗普的说法。

The articles say that US law enforcement and Intelligence agencies were investigating connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. The New York Times reported, citing an anonymous official source, that the White House was provided with intelligence from that investigation, drawn from wiretaps. The websites Heatstreet and Breitbart said that the FBI or more broadly “the Obama administration” had requested and received warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to investigate members of the Trump campaign.

这些报道称，美国执法和情报部门正就俄罗斯与特朗普竞选团队之间的关系进行调查。《纽约时报》(New York Times)的报道援引一位匿名官员提供的消息，称白宫从这项调查中获得了情报，情报来源渠道为监听。网站Heatstreet和Breitbart称，联邦调查局(FBI)、更宽泛地说是“奥巴马政府”，此前已根据《外国情报监视法》(Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act)申请并获得了调查特朗普竞选团队成员的许可令。

Even if such a warrant was requested, that fact would remain a universe away, practically, politically and morally, from what Mr Trump has alleged. If the warrant was issued properly, Mr Trump’s statements are a reckless slander. If Mr Trump does have evidence that Mr Obama interfered in a justice department investigation or has illegally ordered a wiretap on a US citizen, he must say so at once. If the alleged information is classified, he has the authority to declassify it.

即便真的申请过这一许可令，也与特朗普所指控的事情相去甚远——无论是从事实、政治还是道德角度来说。如果许可令是合法颁发的，那么特朗普的言论就属于草率的毁谤。如果特朗普确实有证据证明，奥巴马干预了司法部门的调查或非法下令监听一名美国公民，那么特朗普必须马上直截了当地说出来。如果所涉信息属于机密，那么他有权解密。

The fact that he has said nothing of the sort as of yet suggests that such a statement will not be volunteered. It is up to other officials to clarify this dangerously opaque situation. Two have led the way. James Comey, the head of the FBI, has requested that the justice department deny the president’s statements. James Clapper, the head of national intelligence during the presidential campaign, has gone on record to deny that there was a wiretap of anyone in the Trump campaign on his watch. Now the justice department must come forward. True, this could upset a legitimate investigation. But letting the matter hang in the air would be immensely damaging. The question of the warrants must be closed quickly even if the costs are high.

到目前为止，特朗普还没有说出这样的话，这表明，他不会主动说出这样的话。其他官员必须让这种危险且扑朔迷离的情况明朗起来。有两人已经率先这么做了。美国联邦调查局局长詹姆斯?科米(James Comey)已要求司法部否认特朗普的言论。在美国总统大选期间担任美国国家情报总监的詹姆斯?克拉珀（James Clapper)公开表示，在他在任期间没有对特朗普竞选团队的任何人进行监听。现在司法部必须站出来。确实，这可能会扰乱一个合法的调查。但让此事悬在半空将极具破坏性。即便代价高昂，许可令的问题也必须迅速了结。

The Trump administration argues that this matter should be resolved by a congressional intelligence committee. If the president provides the grounds for his statements, then a committee that also investigates alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russian agents will be the right venue for sorting out this tangled affair.

特朗普政府认为，此事应由一个国会情报委员会解决。如果特朗普提供有关他指控的依据，那么一个同时在调查特朗普竞选活动与俄罗斯间谍之间关系的委员会，将适合主持理清这团乱麻。

Mr Trump’s statements are the most extreme evidence yet that he is in more or less open conflict with all of the institutions of the US government save the military — from the intelligence services, to the state department and much of the rest of the civil service. Whether a system designed to require co-operation can work under these conditions remains to be seen. If the currency of this conflict is groundless accusations from the Oval Office, the strains may be too much to bear.

特朗普的这些言论是迄今为止最为极端的例证，表明他与美国政府除军事部门外的所有机构都或多或少地发生了公开对立——从情报部门，到国务院以及其他很多行政部门。目前还不清楚，这个被设计为需要合作的体制，能否在目前的情况下运转。如果这种对立缘于来自总统办公室的毫无根据的指控，那么这个体制内相互拉扯较劲的力量可能让它无法承受。