好英语网拜登的机密文件问题与特朗普“文件门”有何异同
WASHINGTON — The disclosure that classified documents were found in a private office that Joseph R. Biden Jr. had used before beginning his 2020 campaign has prompted comparisons to former President Donald J. Trump’s hoarding of sensitive government records, which is the subject of a criminal investigation.
华盛顿——在开始2020年的竞选活动前，小约瑟夫·R·拜登曾使用过一间私人办公室，有消息称在该办公室中发现了机密文件，这一披露促使人们将其与前总统唐纳德·J·特朗普囤积敏感政府记录的做法相比较，后者受到了刑事调查。
Based on what is publicly known so far, here is a closer look:
我们根据目前公开的信息进行了进一步了解：
当总统离任时，白宫的记录应该进入国家档案馆。
How are the situations similar?
两个情况有何相似之处？
At a basic level, both involve official files bearing classification markings that improperly accompanied Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden after they left office. Under the Presidential Records Act, White House records are supposed to go to the National Archives and Records Administration once an administration departs. Private citizens generally lack authorization to hold classified documents, and regulations require such files to be stored securely.
在基本层面上，两者都涉及带有机密标记的官方文件，这些文件在特朗普和拜登卸任后仍然在他们手上，这是不正当的。根据《总统记录法》，白宫的记录应该在总统离职后交给国家档案和记录管理局。普通公民通常无权持有机密文件，法规要求这类文件应保存在安全的地方。
The Justice Department is scrutinizing both situations. In Mr. Trump’s case, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has appointed a special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee the investigation. In Mr. Biden’s case, Mr. Garland has assigned a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, John R. Lausch Jr., to conduct an initial investigation to help him determine whether to appoint a special counsel.
两者都在接受司法部的严密调查。在特朗普案中，司法部长梅里克·B·加兰已任命独立检察官杰克·史密斯主导调查。在拜登案中，加兰已指派特朗普任命的联邦检察官小约翰·R·劳施进行初步调查，以帮助他决定是否需要任命一名独立检察官。
How are the situations different?
两个情况有何不同？
There are key gaps in the public record about both, but the available information suggests there were significant differences in how the documents came to light, their volume and — most important — how Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden responded. Mr. Trump and his aides resisted the government’s repeated efforts to retrieve them all, while Mr. Biden’s lawyers reported the problem and the White House says it has fully cooperated. These apparent differences have consequential legal implications.
两者的公开记录都存在关键缺失，但现有信息表明，这些文件被发现的方式、文件的数量以及——最重要的——特朗普和拜登的回应方式，存在显著差异。特朗普和他的助手抵制政府取回全部文件的种种努力，而拜登的律师报告了这个问题，白宫表示已全力合作。这些明显的差异会影响到法律后果。
Where were the files?
文件在哪里？
In Mr. Trump’s case, several hundred government files marked as classified — along with thousands of unclassified documents and photos — ended up at his Florida club and residence, Mar-a-Lago, after he left office. Some were in cartons in a locked storage closet, and the F.B.I. discovered others in Mr. Trump’s office, including in his desk, according to court filings.
在特朗普事件中，数百份标记为机密的政府文件——以及数千份非机密文件和照片——在他卸任后最终进入了他在佛罗里达州的俱乐部和住所马阿拉歌庄园。根据法庭文件，其中一些文件装在纸箱里，放在一个上锁的储藏室里，FBI在特朗普的办公室，包括他的办公桌上，发现了其他文件。
In Mr. Biden’s case, the White House said in a statement on Monday that “a small number of documents with classified markings” were discovered in a locked closet at an office at a Washington think tank, the Penn Biden Center. It added that Mr. Biden had periodically used the space after leaving the vice presidency in 2017 until he began his bid for the 2020 presidency.
在此次拜登事件中，白宫周一发表声明，称在华盛顿智库宾夕法尼亚拜登中心办公室的一个上锁的壁橱里发现了“少量带有机密标记的文件”。白宫还说，拜登在2017年离开副总统职位后时常使用该办公室，直到他开始竞选2020年总统职位。
How did the files get there?
文件是如何被带到那里的？
As president, Mr. Trump is said to have periodically taken records from the Oval Office to the residential areas of the White House. During the chaos of his last days in office after he sought to cling to power, those files were apparently packed up with personal items like clothing and mementos and shipped to Mar-a-Lago.
任总统期间，据说特朗普每隔一段时间就将记录从椭圆形办公室带到白宫居住区。他在任期最后的混乱日子里试图把持权力，这些文件似乎与衣物和纪念品等个人物品打包在一起，然后运往马阿拉歌庄园。
It is not yet known how records from the Obama administration wound up at the Penn Biden Center. On Tuesday, Mr. Biden said that he took classified information seriously and that he was “surprised to learn that there were any government records there that were taken to that office.”
目前尚不清楚奥巴马政府的记录是如何来到宾夕法尼亚拜登中心的。周二，拜登表示，他非常重视机密信息，他“得知有政府记录被带到那个办公室时感到很惊讶”。
How did the problems come to light?
问题是如何被发现的？
Very differently.
两者非常不同。
In the case of Mr. Trump, the National Archives in the spring of 2021 realized that historically prominent files were missing and asked Mr. Trump to return them. The agency eventually retrieved 15 boxes and found that they included documents with classification markings. The Justice Department retrieved additional records after issuing a subpoena, but it developed evidence that Mr. Trump still had more.
在特朗普的情况中，国家档案馆在2021年春天意识到具有重要历史意义的文件缺失，并要求特朗普归还这些文件。该机构最终取回了15个箱子，发现里面装有带有机密标记的文件。司法部在发出传票后找回了更多记录，但也发现了特朗普还持有更多记录的证据。
In the case of Mr. Biden, the White House has said that his lawyers discovered the files on Nov. 2 when they were packing up to vacate the office at the Penn Biden Center. “The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the archives,” it also said.
在拜登的情况中，白宫表示，他的律师于11月2日在宾夕法尼亚拜登中心打包物品以清空办公室时发现了这些文件。“这些文件均不是档案馆先前要求或查询的对象，”白宫还说。
How did they respond?
他们分别如何回应？
Very differently.
两者非常不同。
Mr. Biden’s team reported the problem to the National Archives on the same day it was discovered, and the agency retrieved the materials the next morning, the White House said. It added that Mr. Biden’s team has since cooperated with the archives and the Justice Department “to ensure that any Obama-Biden administration records are appropriately in the possession of the archives.”
白宫称，拜登的团队在发现问题的当天就向国家档案馆报告了这一问题，后者次日早上取回了这些材料。白宫还说，拜登的团队此后与档案馆和司法部合作，“以确保奥巴马-拜登政府的任何记录都妥善归入档案馆。”
Mr. Biden said on Tuesday that his lawyers had acted appropriately: They immediately called the archives to turn over the materials. “We’re cooperating fully — cooperating fully — with the review, which I hope will be completed soon,” he said.
拜登周二表示，他的律师做出了恰当的反应：他们立即打电话给档案馆交出了材料。“我们正在全力配合——全力配合——审查，我希望审查能尽快完成，”他说。
By contrast, Mr. Trump and his aides for months delayed responding to the National Archives’ repeated requests, then failed to fully comply with the subpoena while falsely saying they had. A court filing also suggested that security camera footage shows that “government records were likely concealed and removed” from the storage room at Mar-a-Lago after the subpoena.
相比之下，特朗普和他的助手几个月来一直没有回应国家档案馆的一再要求，没有完全遵照传票要求行事，却谎称已经照办。一份法庭文件还表明，监控显示，传票发出后，“政府记录可能被隐藏并从马阿拉歌庄园的储藏室中移除”。
Mr. Trump has repeatedly attacked the National Archives for telling the Justice Department about the matter and portrayed the investigation as illegitimate. A federal judge is considering holding his team in contempt for defying the subpoena.
特朗普因国家档案馆将此事告知司法部而对其多次进行攻击，并称调查非法。一名联邦法官正在考虑以藐视法庭追究其团队无视传票要求。
In each case, were the documents still classified?
在两个事件里，文件是否仍处于机密状态？
Probably.
有可能是。
Mr. Trump publicly claimed that before leaving office, he declassified everything that turned up at Mar-a-Lago. No credible evidence has emerged to support that claim, and his lawyers have resisted repeating it in court, where there are professional consequences for lying. (Moreover, the potential crimes cited in the affidavit used to search Mr. Trump’s Florida residence do not depend on whether mishandled documents were classified.)
特朗普公开声称，在马阿拉歌庄园出现的所有内容都已在他离任前被他解密。没有可靠的证据支持这一说法，他的律师拒绝在法庭上重复这一说法，因为在法庭上撒谎会带来职业后果。（此外，用于搜查特朗普佛罗里达州住所的书面证词指出的潜在罪行并不取决于处理不当的文件是否属于机密。）
While the executive order governing the classified information system gives vice presidents the same power to declassify secrets as presidents wield, Mr. Biden has not claimed he declassified the materials found in the Penn Biden Center closet. He said on Tuesday that he did not know what they were.
虽然管理机密信息系统的行政命令赋予副总统与总统一样的解密机密的权力，但拜登并未声称他解密了在宾夕法尼亚拜登中心壁橱中发现的材料。他周二表示，他不知道这些材料是什么。
How many classified documents were there?
有多少份机密文件？
Many more classified documents appear to have been improperly stored at Mr. Trump’s estate than at Mr. Biden’s office.
与拜登的办公室相比，特朗普的庄园似乎有更多的机密文件被不当存放。
Court filings say that 184 documents marked as classified were in the 15 boxes the National Archives initially retrieved from Mar-a-Lago. The Trump team turned over 38 more such records after the subpoena, and the F.B.I. found another 103 in its search.
法庭文件称，国家档案馆最初从马阿拉歌庄园取回的15个盒子里有184份标记为机密的文件。传票发出后，特朗普团队又交出了38份此类记录，联邦调查局在搜索中又找到了103份。
The Biden administration’s statement said a “small number” of documents marked as classified were discovered in the closet at the Penn Biden Center. CBS News has reported there were about 10.
拜登政府的声明说，在宾夕法尼亚拜登中心的壁橱里发现了“少量”标记为机密的文件。CBS新闻报道说大约有10份。
When Mr. Biden’s lawyers saw classified documents in the closet, they immediately cleared the room, a person briefed on the situation said. The Biden team did not conduct its own systematic audit of the files.
一位了解情况的人士说，当拜登的律师看到壁橱里的机密文件时，他们立即要求所有人离开房间。拜登团队没有对文件进行自己的系统审查。
Were documents also mutilated or destroyed?
文件是否也被撕坏或销毁？
Mr. Trump appears to have destroyed official documents. Former aides have said he ripped up files while in office, and a letter from the National Archives indicated that some of the files it retrieved had been mutilated.
特朗普似乎销毁了官方文件。前助手说，他在任期间撕毁了文件，国家档案馆的一封信表明，它检索到的一些文件已被撕坏。
There has been no allegation that Mr. Biden destroyed public records.
没有关于拜登销毁公共记录的指控。
What are the legal consequences of these differences?
这些区别会造成什么样的法律后果？
The implications of these differences are significant, though more information could still come to light.
这些差异有着显著的意义，尽管可能还会出现更多信息。
One question is whether any mishandling of secrets was intentional. A provision of the Espionage Act, for example, makes it a crime if someone, without authorization, willfully retains a national security secret “and fails to deliver it on demand” to an official entitled to take custody of it.
问题是，对机密的任何不当处理是否是故意的。例如，《反间谍法》规定，如果有人未经授权故意保留国家安全机密，“并且不按要求提供”给有权保管该机密的官员，则构成犯罪。
The application to search Mar-a-Lago cited laws against destroying official documents and obstructing an official effort. That the F.B.I. discovered additional documents with classification markings in its search of Mar-a-Lago has also raised the possibility that Mr. Trump’s team defied the subpoena and made false statements.
搜查马阿拉歌庄园的申请援引了禁止销毁官方文件和妨碍官方工作的法律。FBI在搜索马阿拉歌庄园时发现了更多带有机密标记的文件，这也增加了特朗普团队无视传票并做出虚假陈述的可能性。