hold someone to account
21日に行われた大統領就任式に集まった人数について、マスコミは間違った報道をしていると非難しました。
With False Claims, Trump Attacks Media on Turnout and Intelligence Rift
WASHINGTON — President Trump used his first full day in office on Saturday to unleash a remarkably bitter attack on the news media, falsely accusing journalists of both inventing a rift between him and intelligence agencies and deliberately understating the size of his inauguration crowd.
（省略）
Later, at the White House, he dispatched Sean Spicer, the press secretary, to the briefing room in the West Wing, where Mr. Spicer scolded reporters and made a series of false statements.
He said news organizations had deliberately misstated the size of the crowd at Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Friday in an attempt to sow divisions at a time when Mr. Trump was trying to unify the country, warning that the new administration would hold them to account.
今回取り上げるのはhold someone to accountです。
Oxford Living Dictionariesでは“call (bring) someone to account”で“Require someone to explain a mistake or poor performance.”と定義されています。
『英辞郎 on the web』で確認すると「（人）の責任を問う」とありました。
よって、ここではショーン・スパイサー大統領報道官は、この観客の人数に関する報道に関して「マスコミに説明責任を問う」ことを示していることがわかります。(flyingbird)
