国会传票引发的法庭诉讼往往拖延数年。民主党人尚未掌权，但他们针对唐纳德·特朗普总统及其核心圈子的雄心勃勃的监督议程时钟已在滴答作响。
Court fights over congressional subpoenas often drag on for years. Democrats aren’t in power yet, but the clock on their ambitious oversight agenda — aimed squarely at President Donald Trump and his inner circle — is ticking.
尽管民主党领导人高声呼吁特朗普的助手们“找律师”，但他们清楚国会监督往往是一个缓慢、笨重的过程。他们也知道，特朗普有过比其调查者（无论是刑事还是国会的）更持久的记录。而法院可能也帮不上多少忙。
For all the chest-thumping calls for Trump associates to “lawyer up,” it’s not lost on Democratic leaders that congressional oversight is often a slow, plodding process. They also know Trump has a track record of outlasting his investigators, both criminal and congressional. And the courts may not be much help.
在这种背景下，民主党人知道必须迅速启动调查，才有机会在特朗普仍掌权时清除这些障碍。
Against that backdrop, Democrats know they need to launch their investigations quickly to have any chance to clear those hurdles while Trump remains in power.
“他们游泳其中的腐败污泥如此之多，以至于特朗普政府的传票必须相当早地开始发出，”预计将出任众议院司法委员会主席的杰米·拉斯金众议员（民主党-马里兰州）周一在接受采访时表示。
“There is such a cesspool of corruption that they are swimming in that the subpoenas of the Trump administration will have to begin rather early,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who is slated to chair the powerful House Judiciary Committee, said in an interview Monday.