2024年大选日刚过，特别检察官杰克·史密斯及其团队不情不愿地收尾了工作——并非他们自愿，也非因证据不足，而是因为司法部禁止起诉在任总统的准则，而唐纳德·特朗普刚刚赢得大选。
Almost immediately after Election Day 2024, special counsel Jack Smith and his team grudgingly wrapped up their work— not because they wanted to or because they lacked compelling evidence, but because of Justice Department guidelines against prosecuting a sitting president, and Donald Trump had just won.
别无选择之下，史密斯辞职，他对总统的刑事起诉实际上随之化为乌有。
Left without options, Smith resigned and his criminal indictments against the president effectively evaporated.
然而，对于国会共和党人而言，这仅仅是第二阶段的开始。事实上，对于那些视前特别检察官为某种阴谋一部分的共和党议员来说，史密斯转为私人身份提供了一个向他讨要说法的机会。令人惊讶的是，这事儿对该党的发展竟如此不利。
For congressional Republicans, however, that was merely the start of a second phase. Indeed, for GOP lawmakers who saw the former special counsel as part of some conspiratorial plot, his transition to private life offered an opportunity to start demanding answers from Smith. It’s amazing how badly this has turned out for the party.
例如，去年底，众议院司法委员会主席吉姆·乔丹安排了一场与该检察官的闭门听证会，史密斯提供了长达数小时的回答。（史密斯希望问答公开，但这位俄亥俄州共和党人拒绝了。）听证会结束后，司法委员会资深民主党议员、马里兰州众议员杰米·拉斯金开玩笑说，乔丹“明智地决定不允许杰克·史密斯公开作证，因为如果他那样做了，对总统以及所有卷入1月6日叛乱活动的总统身边人来说，将是绝对毁灭性的打击。”
Late last year, for example, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan scheduled a closed-door hearing with the prosecutor, and Smith offered several hours’ worth of answers. (Smith wanted the Q&A to be public, but the Ohio Republican refused.) After the hearing wrapped up, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, joked that Jordan “made an excellent decision in not allowing Jack Smith to testify publicly, because had he done so, it would have been absolutely devastating to the president and all the president’s men involved in the insurrectionary activities of Jan. 6.”
一个月后，乔丹和众议院共和党人认为应该再试一次，这次面向全世界公开直播。这同样给共和党带来了灾难。事实上，加利福尼亚州民主党众议员刘云平在电视听证会后对MSNBC表示：“我非常高兴，坦白说也很震惊，众议院共和党人竟然传唤杰克·史密斯作证。”对共和党而言，教训显而易见：试图在国会听证会上战胜前特别检察官是个极坏的主意。
A month later, Jordan and House Republicans thought they should give this a second try, this time for all the world to see. This, too, was a disaster for the GOP In fact, Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California told MS NOW after the televised hearing, “I’m thrilled and frankly stunned House Republicans called Jack Smith to testify.”The lesson for the GOP seemed rather obvious: Trying to get the better of the former special counsel during a congressional hearing is a very bad idea.
尽管如此，八周前，参议院司法委员会的共和党成员还是决定尝试这次听证会——尽管他们本应更明白事理（其实他们的态度与他们在众议院的同行们并无二致）。
Nevertheless, eight weeks ago, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee decided they also wanted to give this a try though they, like their brethren in the lower chamber, really should’ve known better.
在四个多小时的时间里，史密斯向公众详细列举了特朗普涉嫌犯下的多项重罪；他再次解释了为什么共和党人的那些抱怨毫无道理；还有一个令人难忘的例子：密苏里州的共和党参议员埃里克·施密特试图与前特别检察官史密斯玩“捉弄人的把戏”，结果却把一支女子篮球队误认成了NBA球队，这成了我在国会山见过的最尴尬的场面之一。
Over the course of more than four hours Smith reminded the public about Trump’s many alleged felonies, once again explained why the GOP’s “Arctic Frost” whining doesn’t make any sense and in one highly memorable instance, watched Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri try to play a foolish gotcha game with the former special counsel, only to seemingly confuse a women’s college basketball team with an NBA team in one of the most embarrassing displays I’ve ever seen on Capitol Hill.
需要强调的是，参议院司法委员会的共和党成员其实有几个月的时间来准备这次听证会——整个过程并不仓促：他们有足够的时间整理思路、准备合理的问题、审查相关事实，并策划一场有意义且能揭示真相的听证会。
In case this isn’t obvious, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Republican members had months to prepare for this hearing. This was not a rushed process: They had plenty of time to organize their thoughts, prepare sensible questions, review the relevant facts and plan for a meaningful and illuminating hearing.
但他们失败了。施密特将“爱荷华鹰队”（Iowa Hawkeyes）和“亚特兰大老鹰队”（Atlanta Hawks）这两个球队名称搞混，这一失误显得格外丢脸；不过他只是众多未能充分准备这次重要听证会的共和党成员中的一个罢了。
But they failed. Schmitt flubbing the difference between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Atlanta Hawks stood out as uniquely humiliating, but he was just one of several GOP members who clearly failed to do their homework ahead of the high-profile hearing they demanded.
这种失败的模式一再重复：共和党三次将史密斯传唤到国会山，三次都有时间来准备与这位他们眼中的“敌人”的交锋；然而三次听证会的结果都是：共和党成员的形象受损，而史密斯的表现反而更加出色。
What we’re left with is a pattern of failure: Three times, Republicans have summoned Smith to Capitol Hill. Three times, they had time to prepare for their showdowns with their perceived bête noire.
如果民主党人运气好的话，共和党人可能会再次邀请史密斯参加第四次听证会……届时，施密特或许又会再次犯类似的错误（比如把其他名字相似的体育队伍搞混）。
And three times, the hearings ended with GOP members looking worse and the former special counsel looking better. If Democrats are lucky, Republicans will bring Smith back for a fourth hearing, where Schmitt can confuse other similarly named sports teams.
事实证明，共和党人始终学不会一个简单的道理：他们根本无法战胜杰克·史密斯（Jack Smith）。
The post Republicans are slow to learn a simple lesson: They can’t get the better of Jack Smith MS NOW