Episode Details

US President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.

12月1日晚，美国总统乔·拜登宣布赦免其子亨特·拜登，使亨特·拜登免于因联邦枪支重罪和税务指控而可能被判入狱。这违背了拜登此前不因家人利益而使用总统特殊权力的承诺。

The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.

在特拉华州和加利福尼亚州的两起案件定罪后，美国总统、民主党人拜登此前曾表示不会赦免儿子或为其减轻处罚。此举发生在亨特·拜登在枪支案中被审判定罪并对税务指控认罪后接受惩罚的几周前，距离当选总统唐纳德·特朗普即将重返白宫不到两个月。

It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after his father’s 2020 victory — and casts a pall over the elder Biden's legacy.

亨特·拜登于2020年12月，也就是他父亲2020年总统大选获胜的一个月后，公开披露自己正在接受联邦调查。这给小拜登的长期法律传奇画上了句号，并为拜登的模范形象蒙上了一层阴影。

Hunter Biden was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

亨特·拜登今年6月在特拉华州联邦法院被判三项重罪，罪名是2018年违规购买枪支。检察官表示，当时他在联邦表格上撒谎，声称自己没有非法使用毒品或吸毒成瘾。

He had been set to stand trial in September in the California case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin.

亨特·拜登原定于今年9月在加利福尼亚州受审，该案指控他未缴纳至少140万美元的税款。出人意料的是，在陪审团筛选开始数小时后，他主动对轻罪和重罪指控认罪。

James Comer, one of the Republican chairmen leading congressional investigations into Biden's family, blasted the president’s pardon, saying that the evidence against Hunter was "just the tip of the iceberg."

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