在唐纳德·特朗普政府的各联邦机构中，哪个最沾染腐败，正展开激烈竞争。
There’s steep competition as to which federal outfit under Donald Trump stinks of corruption the most.
司法部显然是竞争者之一，国土安全部同样如此。但商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）——该机构负责监管总统家族自特朗普重返白宫以来用以积累财富的一些预测市场和加密货币——也有相当理由夺得这一“殊荣”。
Certainly, the Justice Department is in the running, as is the Department of Homeland Security But the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — the body tasked with regulating some of the prediction markets cryptocurrencies that the president’s family has used to amass a fortune since Trump returned to the White House — also has a credible claim to the title. And a new report from Bloomberg highlights a potential scandal at the agency that raises questions about whether there was a cover-up involving potential insider trading.
彭博社的一份新报告指出，该机构可能存在一起丑闻，引发人们对是否涉及内幕交易掩盖的质疑。
Bloomberg explained how a top CFTC adviser named Mel Gunewardena ordered investigators to retract their referral of an insider trading probe to the agency’s enforcement division.
彭博社解释说，一名名为梅尔·古纽瓦德纳（Mel Gunewardena）的高级CFTC顾问下令调查人员撤回他们将内幕交易调查转交给该机构执法部门的建议。该调查涉及特朗普在3月的一则宣布中，他在Truth Social平台上发帖称将撤回对伊朗的一些威胁之前，可疑的石油交易。
The investigation involved suspicious oil trades ahead of a March announcement from Trump in which he backed down from some of his threats against Iran. According to the report Billions of dollars’ worth of contracts predicting oil would fall and the S&P 500 would rise were placed about 15 minutes before the president announced his U-turn in a post on Truth Social, fueling widespread speculation about whether someone had an unfair advantage.
报告称，价值数十亿美元的、预测油价将下跌、标普500指数将上涨的合约，就在特朗普发帖宣布其政策转向前约15分钟被买入，这引发了广泛猜测，认为有人可能获得了不公平优势。
The report lays out why some CFTC officials felt Gunewardena’s action was so odd:
报告说明了为何一些CFTC官员认为古纽瓦德纳的行为如此反常：职业专家一直被委托承担专门但琐碎的任务——收集大量数据并撰写初步报告，而执法部门的律师则根据这些报告决定是否展开调查。
Career experts had always been entrusted with the specialized but prosaic task of gathering reams of data and writing preliminary reports that the attorneys in enforcement would then decide whether to pursue.
而现在，据知情人士透露，[特朗普任命的CFTC主席迈克尔·塞利格（Michael Selig）]的顾问正在干预，以阻止该转介并亲自监督数据的收集。彭博社表示，CFTC拒绝置评，且古纽瓦德纳未回应置评请求。
Now, according to the people, an adviser to [Trump-appointed CFTC Chairman Michael] Selig was intervening to scuttle the referral and oversee the gathering of data himself. Bloomberg said the CFTC declined to comment and that Gunewardena didn’t respond to a request for comment.
对石油行业内幕交易的担忧 — — 总统本人曾在此行业投资 — — 在特朗普政府与伊朗的致命冲突中持续发酵。8月，MSNBC的克里斯·海耶斯和记者安东尼娅·朱哈兹讨论了石油行业在股票交易所或预测市场中易受内幕交易影响的脆弱性。就在这样的担忧中，特朗普政府下属的商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）试图阻止各州监管预测市场，包括总统家族已投资的那些市场。
Concerns about insider trading in the oil industry — an industry in which the president has personally invested— have been swirling around the Trump administration amid its deadly war with Iran. In August, MS NOW’s Chris Hayes and journalist Antonia Juhasz discussed the oil industry’s vulnerability to insider trading whether on the stock exchange or via prediction markets. Amid such concerns, Trump’s CFTC has sought to prevent states from regulating prediction markets including ones the president’s family has invested in.
这一切都在加剧人们对为何一位CFTC高级官员会命令其下属撤回对内幕交易调查的建议的合理怀疑。另一位CFTC官员据称对彭博社表示，古纽瓦德纳 — — 他曾在特朗普第一届政府任职 — — 由于其在高盛的先前经验以及在该机构的资历，是领导石油交易调查的最佳人选。
And all of this is fueling understandable suspicion about why a top CFTC official would order his underlings to retract their recommendation for an insider trading probe. Another CFTC official reportedly told Bloomberg that Gunewardena, who served in Trump’s first administration, was in the best position to lead an investigation into the oil trades because of his previous experience at Goldman Sachs and his seniority at the agency.
马萨诸塞州民主党参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦 — — 她数月来一直就可能涉及石油的内幕交易提出担忧 — — 在一份声明中表示，主席塞利格的高级顾问可能干预了机构职业员工履行职责、调查潜在价值数十亿美元内幕交易的努力，这令人深感不安。塞利格主席和古纽瓦德纳应向国会说明该机构调查的最新进展以及潜在的执法行动，以阻止内幕人士从总统与伊朗的战争中获利。
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. — who has raised concerns about possible insider trades involving oil for months —said in a statement It is disturbing that a senior advisor to Chairman Selig may have intervened in efforts by agency career staff to do their jobs and investigate potentially billions of dollars worth of insider trading. Chairman Selig and Mr. Gunewardena should answer to Congress about the latest status of the agency’s investigations and potential enforcement actions to stop insiders from profiting off of the President’s war with Iran.
彭博社的报道正值公众对腐败的愤怒 — — 特朗普在任期间的自我敛财 — — 持续升温之际。最近的一项盖洛普民调显示，89%的美国人认为政府腐败广泛存在。此外，根据最近的一项美联社-NORC民调，近十分之六的美国成年人认为特朗普通过非法或不道德的手段从总统职位中获利。
Bloomberg’s report comes at a time when public anger over corruption — and Trump’s self-enrichment while in office — continues to mount. A recent Gallup poll found that 89% of Americans said they think corruption in the government is widespread. And according to a recent AP-NORC poll, nearly 6 in 10 adults in the U.S.
据报道，美国商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）高级官员干预阻止了关于石油交易的内幕交易转介。MS NOW
believe that Trump has used either illegal or unethical means to profit from the presidency. The post Top CFTC official reportedly intervened to kill insider trading referral regarding oil trades MS NOW