本周，第120届国会的议员们齐聚华盛顿选举领导层，私营部门的民主党权力律师们也在私下议论，商量他们当中谁准备出手相助。
As members of the 120th Congress meet in Washington this week to elect their leadership, Democratic power lawyers in the private sector are talking among themselves to determine who among them is poised to lend a hand.
MS NOW与12名在政府之外工作的民主党律师进行了交谈，其中大多数人曾在往届政府或国会山担任要职。有几人告诉MS NOW，他们圈子里的议论话题是“国会山正在招聘多少人”，而且所有人都认为，新一届国会需要准备好迎接当下形势的律师。
In conversations with 12 Democratic lawyers who work outside government — most of whom have held high-profile posts in previous administrations or on Capitol Hill — several tell MS NOW that the chatter in their circles is “how much the Hill is hiring up,” and all agree that the new Congress needs lawyers prepared to meet the moment.
其中几名律师还表示，他们知道有些人要么已被接触，希望其为国会民主党人的调查目标效力，要么已表示有兴趣这样做。这些律师均要求匿名，以维护与客户、民选官员和高级职员的关系。
Several of those lawyers, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships with clients, elected officials and senior staff, also said they knew of people who either had been approached to serve congressional Democrats’ investigative aims or expressed interest in doing so.
一名资深众议院民主党人的发言人表示，众议院总法律顾问的遴选本身仍处于初期阶段，可能需要几周时间。与此同时，众议院司法委员会的民主党人已经发布公告，招募对监督和调查等事务感兴趣的律师，并注明“有开展调查的经验”将“受到高度重视”。但众议院总法律顾问一职、以及最有可能开展引人注目调查的各委员会首席法律顾问职位最需要哪些素质，仍在积极讨论之中。
A spokesperson for a senior House Democrat said the search for a House general counsel is itself in the formative stages and could take a few weeks. Meanwhile, House Judiciary Democrats have already posted an announcement seeking lawyers interested in oversight and investigations, among other issues, and noting that “previous experience conducting investigations” is “strongly valued.”But the qualities most needed in the House general counsel role, as well as in chief counsel positions for the committees most likely to conduct headline-grabbing investigations, are still being actively discussed.
一名接受MS NOW采访的律师认为，众议院领导人可能是在寻找法律界的独角兽——用另一名律师的话说，是“甘愿受罚的人”。特朗普政府已经对调查采取了强硬态度，而调查将是新一届众议院的优先事项，也是聘用得力律师最紧迫的原因。
One lawyer who spoke to MS NOW suggested that House leaders might be looking for the equivalent of legal unicorns — and in the words of another lawyer, “gluttons for punishment.”The Trump administration has already taken a combative approach to investigations, which will be a priority for the incoming House and are the most pressing reason to bring on skilled lawyers.
特朗普周日在其“真实社交”平台发帖，甚至提出民主党的弹劾程序威胁以及“许多其他形式的惩罚”构成“最高级别的敲诈勒索”，并借帖子命令司法部“立即调查这一犯罪行为！”一名近期有白宫和国会山工作经验的律师告诉MS NOW，为预计将出任议长的众议员哈基姆·杰弗里斯提供建议的一些人一直在定期举行“半官方”会议，讨论民主党人今后开展调查所需的国会工作人员。他们还面试了“数十名”前国会山工作人员，以及在奥巴马和拜登政府时期参与应对国会调查的人士。
In a TruthSocial post Sunday, Trump even suggested that Democrats’ threats of impeachment proceedings and “many other forms of punishment” constitute “extortion at the highest level” and ordered the DOJ, through his post, “to look into this criminal act, immediately!”One lawyer with recent White House and Capitol Hill experience told MS NOW that some of those advising Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the projected speaker, have been holding regular “quasi-official” meetings about the staff congressional Democrats will need for the investigations ahead. They have also interviewed “dozens” of former Hill staffers, as well as people involved in defending against congressional investigations during the Obama and Biden administrations.
这名人士接着说，对于这一最高职位，民主党人需要一位“战时军师”，或者对法律顾问办公室以及白宫有深入了解的人。此外，总法律顾问应当有能力判断哪些仗值得打，而不是事事都诉诸法庭。这名人士还说，合适的人选需要有“调整”国会与行政部门之间关系“使之恰当”的意愿，而且由于杰弗里斯以不事无巨细地微观管理而闻名，合适的人选将被放手自行做出艰难决定。
For the top job, that person continued, Democrats need a “wartime consigliere” or someone with deep knowledge of the Office of Legal Counsel — and of the White House. Additionally, the general counsel should be capable of deciding which fights are worth choosing rather than battling everything in the courts. The person added the right candidate needs the will to “right-size the relationship” between Congress and the executive branch, and since Jeffries has a reputation of not micromanaging, the right person for the job would be left to make tough decisions on their own.
这名律师指出，在其圈子里，并非所有人都对众议员罗伯特·加西亚“请律师”的指令感到满意，指出这些指令没有把握好恰当的语气。尽管如此，众议院总法律顾问应当有能力进行“短刀相接的柔术”，也就是猛烈对抗，一位在三大部门都有经验的高级律师也认同这一看法。
The lawyer noted not everyone in their circles has been happy with Rep. Robert Garcia’s “lawyer up” directives, noting they did not strike the right tone. Still, the House general counsel should be capable of “knife-fight jiu jitsu,” or aggressively fighting, a sentiment with which a senior lawyer with experience in all three branches agreed.
MS NOW法律分析师、奥巴马政府时期的前联邦检察官乔伊斯·万斯表示，专业的检察经验也很重要，尤其是在调查方面。
Joyce Vance, an MS NOW legal analyst and former U.S. attorney during the Obama administration, said professional prosecutorial experience matters, too, especially for investigations.
她指出，现任众议员丹·戈德曼在特朗普首次弹劾案期间担任众议院情报委员会调查主管，这段经历至关重要，显示出律师的检察官背景与风度如何能被有效用于国会监督。她说，戈德曼的提问带来了一种“关于这类律师工作应当是什么样子的全新思路”。这位近期拥有白宫和国会山经验的律师表示，在那些主持过或应对过国会调查的人当中，还有一项广泛共识：民主党需要一位“不讲废话的诉讼律师”。但他们和其他人认为，这个人不应担任众议院的首席律师。
She noted that now-Rep. Dan Goldman’s work as head of investigations for the House Intelligence Committee during Trump’s first impeachment was pivotal in showing how a lawyer’s prosecutorial background and demeanor could be effectively harnessed for congressional oversight. Goldman’s questions, she said, ushered in a “fresh approach to what this kind of lawyering should look like.”Among those who have managed or defended against congressional investigations, the lawyer with recent White House and Hill experience said there is also widespread agreement that Democrats need a “no-bullshit litigator.”But that person, they and others believe, should not be the House’s chief lawyer.
正如另一位曾在司法部担任高级职务的律师所指出的，“国会不可能在1月3日就冲进法院。”这位人士指出，国会将需要动用一切手段，让法官相信它已在提起诉讼前尽一切努力解决争议，并表明它之所以诉诸诉讼，只是因为“替代方案就是你所处的[一届]国会任期耗尽”——而一届国会任期只有两年。
As another lawyer who has served in a senior DOJ role noted, “Congress cannot run into court on Jan. 3.”Congress will need to use all of its tools to convince judges that it has done everything it can to resolve disputes before bringing a lawsuit, the person noted, and show that it has only resorted to litigation because “the alternative would be the clock running out on your [session of] Congress,” which lasts only two years.
万斯还强调，需要组建一支充满具备“某种难以言喻之物”的人手的团队：对国家的热爱，以及对“持续进行的美国实验”的承诺，这种承诺渗透在他们的工作之中。
Vance also emphasized the need to build a team full of people with “something ineffable”: a love of country and commitment to the “ongoing American experiment” that permeates their work.
当被问及他们会推荐谁担任众议院法律顾问一职时，一位在三大部门都有经验的高级律师停顿了一下。他们说，对于这个职位，他们最想要的是一位一流的政治战略家。
Asked who they would recommend for the House counsel job, a senior lawyer with experience in all three branches paused. For that job, they said, what they would most want is a top-flight political strategist.
“我能想到具备这些技能的人，”他们说，“但没有一个是律师。”
“I can think of people who have the skills,” they said. “And none of them is a lawyer.”