譯/陳韋廷
川普好友：為他提供諮詢 如讓事業步上「死亡行軍」
In 2015, financier Tom Barrack agreed to support his old friend Donald Trump's long-shot presidential campaign because he sensed an opportunity in his career's twilight to "weave a web of tolerance" in the Middle East.
2015年，金融家巴瑞克同意支持老友川普希望不大的總統競選，因為他在自己職涯晚期嗅到在中東「編織寬容之網」的機會。
The result was "disastrous," Barrack told a jury Monday in Brooklyn's federal court, where he took the witness stand in his own defense on charges that he acted as an undisclosed agent for the United Arab Emirates.
巴瑞克周一在布魯克林聯邦法院向陪審團表示，結果是「災難性的」。他被控擔任阿拉伯聯合大公國的秘密間諜，出庭為自己辯護。
Trump's ban on Muslim immigrants and support for a blockade of Qatar alienated Barrack's longtime friends and business partners in the Middle East, said Barrack, who is of Lebanese descent. The administration's near-constant "drama" made investors skittish about Barrack's companies, he testified. Then the investigators came calling.
有黎巴嫩血統的巴瑞克說，川普禁穆斯林移民及支持封鎖卡達做法，讓他跟中東地區老朋友和商業夥伴疏離。他作證表示，川普政府持續不斷的「鬧劇」，讓投資人對巴瑞克的公司感到不安，之後調查人員找上門了。
Asked by his lawyer about the personal impact of his relationship with the president, Barrack told the courtroom: "I'm sitting with all of you today."
當被他律師問到與總統關係對個人影響時，巴瑞克在法庭上說：「我今天才會跟你們所有人坐在一起。」
This underlying argument of Barrack's defense — the claim, which the government disputes, that he is being prosecuted because of his friendship with Trump — was one of the themes Barrack touched on Monday in his testimony, which is expected to last several days. He also described his dealings with the Middle East, and the Emiratis in particular, as part of normal business, not a secret influence campaign.
巴瑞克辯護的基本論點，也就是他因為與川普的友誼而被起訴，已遭政府駁斥。這是巴瑞克周一在證詞中觸及的主題之一，他的作證料將持續幾天。他還說自己與中東特別是阿聯的交易，是正常業務的一部分，不是秘密的影響力活動。
Barrack's trial enters its sixth week in federal court in Brooklyn, and on the same day that jury selection began in the trial of the Trump Organization on tax fraud charges in Manhattan, part of the legal entanglement surrounding the former president and his circle.
在布魯克林聯邦法院，對巴瑞克的審判進入第六周。就在同一天，川普集團在曼哈頓被控稅務詐欺的審判開始挑選陪審團成員，這是圍繞這位前總統及其圈子的法律糾葛一部分。
Barrack is expected to testify Tuesday and part of Wednesday, when prosecutors said they will begin to cross-examine him. Judge Brian M. Cogan told the jury Monday it would likely get the case next week.
巴瑞克將在周二及周三部分時間作證，檢察官說他們周三將對他進行交叉訊問。法官柯根周一告訴陪審團，此案可能會在下周審理。
Barrack faces nine counts, including acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
巴瑞克面臨9項控罪，包括未通知司法部長情況下充當外國政府代理人、妨礙司法公正及作出虛假陳述。
Asked by his lawyer if he would have been better off advising a different candidate, or none at all.
他的律師問他，給另一位候選人提供建議，或者都不要，是否會對他比較好。
"In hindsight, unquestionably," Barrack said. Running Colony Capital, a publicly traded company, "the owners of public shares vote with their feet," he said. "With the continued drama that this president found himself in," his shareholders got upset.
巴瑞克說：「事後來看，毫無疑問。」他表示，經營上市公司柯洛尼資本時，「公開發行股票的股東是用腳投票的。隨著這位總統陷入持續不斷的鬧劇」，他的股東們感到不安。
"For a public company, it's just the death march."
「對一家上市公司來說，這就是死亡行軍。」
