Anyone who has ever worked as a lawyer for Donald Trump makes a bet. There is the possibility that you, too, will run afoul of(触犯、违反) the law—eight of the president’s lawyers have themselves been indicted. Alternatively, your work might pay dividends(产生回报、带来好处). Such was Todd Blanche’s calculus(算计、权衡) three years ago when his white-shoe firm(精英律师事务所) gave him a choice: represent Mr Trump, then a candidate and a criminal defendant, or remain a partner. Mr Blanche chose Mr Trump. Now the president has selected him to be America’s top cop(最高执法官员).
任何为唐纳德·特朗普担任过律师的人都是在打赌。你也有可能触犯法律——总统的八名律师本人已被起诉。或者，你的工作可能会带来回报。三年前，当托德·布兰奇所在的精英律师事务所给他选择时，他就是这样盘算的：要么为当时还是候选人和刑事被告的特朗普辩护，要么保留合伙人身份。布兰奇选择了特朗普。如今，总统选定他担任美国的最高执法官。
On July 15th the Senate began hearings(听证会) to consider Mr Blanche’s nomination to lead the Department of Justice (DoJ). Whether lawmakers confirm him as attorney-general(司法部长) will test their willingness to endorse Mr Trump’s legal agenda, but even a rebuke(谴责、否决) would be only symbolic. The president will still get his way(如愿以偿) at the DoJ; Mr Blanche can stay in the job on an acting basis(以代理身份) for months and be replaced by someone similar after.
7月15日，参议院开始举行听证会，审议布兰奇领导司法部（DoJ）的提名。议员们是否确认他担任司法部长，将检验他们支持特朗普法律议程的意愿，但即使否决也只是象征性的。总统仍将在司法部如愿以偿；布兰奇可以以代理身份任职数月，之后被类似人选取代。
With or without Mr Blanche, the president will continue to lead a transformation of dramatic scale. With warrants(搜查令) and subpoenas(传票), the DoJ is pursuing Mr Trump’s critics and his hobby-horses(热衷的话题), from political adversaries to election fraud to leaks in the press. The number of lawyers has dwindled(减少) by 20%; former prosecutors point to an incompatibility(不相容) between the president’s agenda and the fair application of law. The DoJ is retreating from certain types of criminal enforcement. And, increasingly, judges are telling government lawyers that they cannot be taken at their word(相信他们的话).
无论有无布兰奇，总统将继续领导一场规模巨大的变革。凭借搜查令和传票，司法部正在追查特朗普的批评者和他热衷的话题，从政治对手到选举欺诈再到新闻泄密。律师数量减少了20%；前检察官指出，总统议程与法律的公平适用之间存在不相容。司法部正从某些类型的刑事执法中退缩。而且，越来越多的法官告诉政府律师，他们的话已不足为信。
