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Former President Donald Trump may have to answer questions under oath about his business practices.
美国前总统唐纳德·特朗普可能必须在宣誓下回答有关其商业行为的问题。
New York Attorney General Letitia James wants to take a deposition from the former president next month in a civil fraud investigation.
纽约州总检察长利蒂夏·詹姆斯(Letitia James)希望下个月在民事欺诈调查中听取这位前总统的证词。
If that happens, he would be compelled to sit in a room with prosecutors and answer questions under penalty of perjury.
如果发生这种情况，他将被迫与检察官坐在一个房间里，在伪证的惩罚下回答问题。
So civil fraud - what is this all about?
那么民事欺诈，这到底是怎么回事?
So the New York Attorney General is examining whether Trump's business routinely lied about the value of its properties - for example, giving tax authorities lowball numbers but reporting higher amounts, say, when he wanted to get a loan at a favorable rate.
因此，纽约州总检察长正在调查特朗普的企业是否经常在房产价值上撒谎-例如，当他想以优惠利率获得贷款时，给税务机关提供较低的数字，但报告却是更高的金额。
This was a pattern at one of Trump's buildings in Manhattan, at 40 Wall Street.
这是特朗普位于曼哈顿华尔街40号的一栋建筑的模式。
In another building or another property, the company reported a value of $56 million for an estate when it had to pay taxes - so a lower amount - but when it wanted to write off the estate, it reported a value of $291 million.
在另一幢大楼或另一处房产中，当必须纳税时，该公司报告一处房产价值为5600万美元，—所以是一个较低的金额—但当它想注销该房产时，公司报告的价值为2.91亿美元。
And this took place in a number of states.
这在很多州都发生过。
These allegations seem like something that a person would prefer to keep secret. How do we know about all this?
这些指控似乎是人们宁愿保守秘密的事情。 我们是怎么知道这些的?
So normally, I wouldn't be able to answer this question because these things take place behind closed doors.
通常情况下，我无法回答这个问题，因为这些事情都是私下里发生的。
But this case is different. And that's because the Trump Organization has fought the investigation.
但这个案子不同。这是因为特朗普集团反对这项调查。
It's refused to cooperate with investigators, so much so the New York Attorney General had to go to court and file documents to get the thing she needs and in one case to force Donald Trump's son, Eric Trump, a Trump Organization executive, to testify.
该公司拒绝与调查人员合作，以至于纽约总检察长不得不去法院提交文件，以获得她需要的东西，还有一次是为了迫使唐纳德·特朗普的儿子、特朗普集团高管埃里克·特朗普作证。
This past summer, she got a second court order for documents about appraisals and valuations.
刚过去的这个夏天，她收到了第二份法庭命令，要求提供有关评估和估值的文件。
Now she's at the point where she wants to interview Donald Trump.
现在她想采访唐纳德·特朗普。
And what is the significance of that, that the state AG is requesting a deposition of the former president?
总检察长要求前总统作证，这有什么意义?
So it is a sign that this long-running investigation has reached a significant new phase.
这标志着这项长期进行的调查已经进入了一个重要的新阶段。
Typically, legal experts tell me, you interview the head of the company when you've collected all the other testimony and documents you need.
法律专家告诉我，通常情况下，当你收集到所有你需要的其他证词和文件时，你就会见公司的负责人。
But more than that, law enforcement officials haven't really had the chance to sit down and interview the former president under oath.
但更重要的是，执法官员还没有真正有机会坐下来，在宣誓的约束下采访这位前总统。
Remember, he never spoke with special counsel Robert Mueller's office.
记住，他从来没有和特别顾问罗伯特·米勒的办公室谈过。
And Trump successfully delayed a number of other legal inquiries while he was president.
特朗普在担任总统期间成功推迟了一些其他法律调查。
Yes. Mr. Trump is well known for delaying things.
是的。特朗普以拖延著称。
So why does anyone think this time is going to be different?
那么，为什么有人会认为这次会有所不同呢?
Well, he - it may not be different, but in New York, what happened is that he has now twice been or his company has twice been told by a judge you have to cooperate.
这可能没什么不同，但在纽约，他已经两次或者他的公司两次被法官告知必须合作。
So it may happen again.
所以它可能会再次发生。
Has Trump said anything about James' investigation or request for a deposition?
特朗普有没有提到詹姆斯的调查或要求作证?
Yes. His lawyer, Ron Fischetti, says he will move to block the subpoena in court.
是的。他的律师罗恩·费舍蒂表示，他将采取行动阻止传唤出庭。
Trump and his chief financial officer and its employees have all denied wrongdoing.
特朗普，他的首席财务官及其员工都否认有不当行为。
And Trump has called the investigation a politically motivated witch hunt.
特朗普称这项调查是出于政治动机的政治迫害。
So all of that was a little sort of thrown off yesterday because the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, had been planning a run for governor in New York in 2022
所有这一切都在昨天被抛诸脑后，因为纽约州总检察长利蒂夏·詹姆斯(Letitia James)一直计划在2022年竞选纽约州州长
but not long after news broke in The Washington Post about this deposition, she sent out a tweet saying she would stay in her job as Attorney General, adding, quote, "there are a number of significant investigations and cases underway."
但在《华盛顿邮报》爆出这次证词的消息后不久，她就发了一条推文，表示她将继续担任总检察长，并补充道，“有许多重大调查和案件正在进行中。”
Suggesting that there are things she might want to do before she moves on. Interesting.
暗示她可能想在干别的事之前做一些事情。 真是有趣。
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