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cover of episode Joe Biden pardons his son. Is that justice?

Joe Biden pardons his son. Is that justice?

2024/12/2
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Consider This from NPR
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People
R
Rachel Barco
乔
乔·拜登
播
播音员
主持著名true crime播客《Crime Junkie》的播音员和创始人。
Topics
乔·拜登总统在其任期的最后几周内赦免了他的儿子亨特·拜登，这引发了关于司法公正和总统权力滥用的广泛讨论。此前，拜登总统曾多次强调没有人凌驾于法律之上，但此次赦免却与他之前的言论相矛盾。赦免的范围非常广泛，涵盖了亨特·拜登过去十年可能犯下的所有联邦罪行，这与以往的总统赦免有所不同。一些人认为，此举是为了保护亨特·拜登免受政治动机的起诉，避免其成为未来政府攻击的目标。但也有人批评此举有失公允，认为政治关联人士与普通民众受到不同的法律待遇，损害了公众对司法系统的信任。拜登总统在任期间很少行使赦免权，此次赦免与其以往的作为形成鲜明对比，进一步加剧了人们的质疑。 亨特·拜登因在购买枪支时谎报吸食可卡因成瘾以及逃税而面临联邦指控。他于6月份被判犯有联邦枪支罪，9月份承认逃税罪。此次赦免使他免于入狱，也引发了对其是否受到特殊待遇的质疑。虽然一些人认为亨特·拜登受到了选择性起诉，但批评者认为，赦免掩盖了其违法行为，并削弱了法律的威慑力。 Rachel Barco教授认为，拜登总统的赦免行为与他之前的承诺相悖，赦免措辞过于宽泛，与福特总统赦免尼克松的情况类似。她指出，拜登总统在任期间赦免率极低，此次赦免与其以往的作为形成鲜明对比，这可能会影响公众对司法系统的看法，让人们觉得政治关联人士与普通民众受到不同的法律待遇。她还认为，特朗普总统无论如何都会按照自己的意愿行使赦免权，因此拜登总统的行动不太可能改变特朗普总统的做法。 播音员在报道中概述了事件的背景，介绍了亨特·拜登的罪行以及乔·拜登总统的赦免决定。报道还采访了法律专家，分析了此次赦免的法律和政治影响，并探讨了其对未来总统赦免的影响。报道中提到，其他总统也曾赦免过盟友、捐款人甚至家庭成员，但拜登总统的赦免因其与之前言论的矛盾以及赦免措辞的宽泛性而显得尤为引人注目。

Deep Dive

Key Insights

Why did President Joe Biden pardon his son Hunter Biden?

President Biden pardoned Hunter Biden to protect him from potential future federal charges, addressing concerns about selective prosecution aimed at the president himself.

How does the language of Hunter Biden's pardon compare to other presidential pardons?

Hunter Biden's pardon is unusually sweeping, similar only to President Gerald Ford's pardon of Nixon, aiming to provide blanket protection from future prosecutions.

What impact might President Biden's pardon of his son have on public perception of the justice system?

The pardon could erode public trust, making the justice system appear biased in favor of politically connected individuals, especially given Biden's limited use of pardon powers for others.

How has President Biden's use of the pardon power differed from previous presidents?

Biden has used the pardon power sparingly, with a focus on symbolic gestures rather than addressing systemic issues, leaving a backlog of 18,000 petitions unresolved.

Could President Biden's actions influence future presidential pardons, particularly by someone like Donald Trump?

Biden's actions are unlikely to affect Trump's approach, as Trump has already demonstrated a pattern of pardoning his cronies, with or without precedent from Biden.

Chapters
President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, for federal gun charges and tax evasion. This action has raised questions about the president's legacy and the future use of presidential pardons. Hunter Biden's case involved charges for lying about his crack cocaine addiction when purchasing a gun and failing to pay over a million dollars in federal taxes.
  • President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden.
  • Hunter Biden was convicted on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to tax evasion.
  • The pardon raises questions about presidential legacy and the future of presidential pardons.

Shownotes Transcript

Hunter Biden no longer has to worry about going to prison.That's because his father President Joe Biden pardoned him with just weeks left in his presidency. The President's son was convicted in June on federal gun charges. Hunter Biden lied about his addiction to crack cocaine when he purchased a gun. And he pleaded guilty in September for failing to pay more than a million dollars in federal taxes.The younger Biden was due to be sentenced in both cases later this month.President Biden has granted his son a sweeping pardon. What will that mean for his legacy... and for the future of presidential pardons? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org).Email us at [email protected]).Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)