拜登总统特赦其子亨特·拜登，免于联邦枪支和逃税指控

President Joe Biden Pardons Son Hunter Biden for Federal Gun and Tax Evasion Charges

“今天，我签署了一项赦免令，赦免了我的儿子亨特。”拜登总统在周日的声明中说道，“从我上任第一天起，我就表示不会干涉司法部的决策，我一直信守承诺，即使亲眼看到我的儿子被有选择性地、不公正地起诉。”

"Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter," President Biden said in a statement released Sunday. "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department's decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted."

拜登在声明中将针对他儿子的指控描述为政治对手攻击其家庭并反对其连任的策略。他提到，去年夏天一项认罪协议因国会对手的压力以及起诉明显带有政治动机而破裂。

Biden, in his statement, described the charges against his son as a strategy by his political opponents to attack his family and oppose his election. He referenced a plea deal that collapsed last summer due to pressure from his opponents in Congress and evidence that the prosecution was politically motivated.

“任何一个理性看待亨特案件事实的人都会得出结论，他之所以被单独挑出来起诉，仅仅是因为他是我的儿子——这是错误的。这是一场试图摧毁亨特的努力——尽管面临无情的攻击和选择性起诉，他已经连续五年半保持清醒。”

"No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution."

亨特·拜登在一系列备受关注的案件中认罪并被定罪，共涉及12项罪名，最高刑期达42年。

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to and was convicted of 12 counts in a series of high-profile cases, carrying a maximum sentence of up to 42 years.

逃税案件起源于2018年唐纳德·特朗普首次执政期间，由时任特拉华州联邦检察官大卫·韦斯发起调查。

The tax evasion case stemmed from an investigation launched in 2018 during Donald Trump's first administration by David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney in Delaware.

尽管美国联邦检察官通常在新总统上任时辞职，但据《华盛顿邮报》报道，拜登政府要求韦斯继续担任这一职务。Though U.S. Attorneys usually resign with each new presidential administration, the Justice Department under Biden asked Weiss to remain in his role, The Washington Post reported at the time.

亨特·拜登试图对调查引发的两项税务犯罪指控认罪，但特朗普提名的美国地区法官玛丽埃伦·诺雷卡去年7月驳回了这一协议。Hunter Biden attempted to plead guilty to two tax crime charges stemming from the investigation, but U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, another Trump nominee, rejected the deal last July.

按照该协议，亨特将对两项税务犯罪认罪，而检察官则会放弃潜在的枪支指控，条件是亨特接受药物滥用治疗。

Under the terms of the arrangement, Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to two tax crimes, and prosecutors would have dropped potential gun charges in exchange for Biden seeking treatment for substance abuse.

如果协议达成，亨特将无需服刑。然而，特朗普及其他共和党人对此批评为“甜心交易”。

If the deal had been finalized, Hunter Biden would not have had to spend any time in jail. However, Trump and other Republicans criticized the arrangement as a "sweetheart deal."

在认罪协议破裂后，检察官于2023年9月指控亨特三项枪支罪名，其中包括在购枪表格上谎报未使用非法药物，以及违反法律拥有武器。

After the plea deal fell apart, prosecutors in September 2023 charged Hunter Biden with three gun charges, including lying on a gun-purchase form by indicating he did not use illegal drugs and owning the weapon in violation of laws that prevent drug users from possessing firearms.

2024年6月，联邦陪审团最终认定亨特枪支指控罪名成立。同年9月，在庭审遴选陪审团前，亨特对九项联邦税务指控认罪。

In June 2024, a federal jury convicted Hunter Biden on the gun charges, and in September 2024, he pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges before jury selection for the trial was set to begin.

特赦决定在两案的宣判听证会之前做出 | The Pardon Comes Ahead of Sentencing Hearings in Both Cases

亨特·拜登的宣判听证会原定于2024年12月中旬进行。此前，拜登总统曾多次坚称不会动用赦免权保护亨特免受判决。Hunter Biden's sentencing hearings were scheduled for mid-December 2024. Previously, President Biden had repeatedly insisted he would not use his pardon power to shield Hunter from the verdicts.

然而，拜登在声明中谈及态度转变时表示，政治已经“感染”了司法体系，导致了司法不公。

However, Biden addressed his change of heart in the statement, saying that politics has "infected" the justice system, leading to a miscarriage of justice.

“事实是，我相信司法系统，但在我思考这件事时，我也相信政治赤裸裸地干预了这一过程，导致了司法不公。”

"Here's the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process, and it led to a miscarriage of justice."

“一旦我在这个周末做出这个决定，就没有理由再拖延。我希望美国人民能够理解，一位父亲和一位总统为何会做出这样的决定。”

"Once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision."

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