拜登宣布赦免其子！背后有哪些细节？(中英文对照)

拜登宣布赦免其子！背后有哪些细节？

来源：国是直通车 2024-12-03 08:53

文/赵斌

当地时间12月1日，美国总统拜登宣布赦免其子亨特·拜登。

据媒体此前报道，亨特·拜登现年54岁，是首名受到刑事指控的美国在任总统子女。他去年9月被指控涉嫌在2018年10月为购买一把左轮手枪而在填写购枪背景调查表格时撒谎，隐瞒自己当时“服用非法药物”即吸毒的事实。此外，他还被指控涉嫌犯有9项联邦税务罪。

此前，拜登曾明确公开表示不会赦免亨特。

美国总统为何拥有赦免权？

中国社会科学院美国问题专家吕祥表示，美国宪法规定美国总统拥有赦免权。根据美国最高法院的司法解释，宪法规定赋予总统赦免、有条件赦免、减刑、有条件减刑、减免罚款、缓刑和大赦的权力。

不过，根据美国宪法，美国总统只能赦免因联邦层面的违法犯罪行为而被判处的刑罚，对违反州和地方法律的案件无赦免权。美国宪法对总统赦免权限没有具体规定，但美国司法部下设的总统赦免事务法律顾问会就赦免事务向总统提交建议，总统有权自行决定是否赦免。

吕祥介绍说，根据美国法律规定，申请人只有在被法院定罪5年后才能提出总统赦免申请。不过在实践中，美国总统可随时做出赦免，无需当事人提出申请，总统甚至能在当事人被法院定罪之前甚至受到正式指控之前就做出赦免决定。

分析人士表示，作为一项制度设计，美国总统被赋予赦免权，初衷是在一定程度上使美国政府三大部门之间能够相互制衡，即对不当司法行为作出纠偏。

美国哪些总统用过赦免权？

据美国司法部网站一项统计，二战后，杜鲁门是批准赦免人数最多的美国总统，为1913人；在他之后是艾森豪威尔总统为1110人；林登·约翰逊总共赦免960人，名列第三；自己被特赦的尼克松总统本人也赦免过863人。

按照流程，美国司法部下设特赦检察官办公室负责审理正式特赦请愿书。经案件调查后，特赦检察官把请愿书及相关材料呈报给司法部长。司法部长审阅卷宗后决定是否向总统建议赦免某一罪犯。

在特赦这件事上，总统“一言九鼎”。白宫和美国司法部人员对要求特赦的申请进行审议，然后向总统推荐哪些人应该得到特赦，但总统有绝对的自由根据任何理由给予特赦或减刑，虽然总统从政治考虑有必要对特赦做出解释，但在法律上他却没有必要这么做。

有分析人士指，近年来总统赦免很少涉及重罪，主要是民事轻罪，美国总统使用特赦权赦免了很多名不见经传的人。前总统小布什曾赦免利用邮件诈骗、向政府机关提供假证词、走私假冒产品、贪污公款等犯罪的人。

吕祥表示，特赦这些轻罪，可为总统树立“宽怀”形象，甚至直接收获受益人及其所能影响到的人给他在大选时投票。有的美国总统对已经过去一百多年且当事人已经过世的案件所涉人员进行特赦，则是为了表达某种政治观点。

拜登为何不惜“打脸”？

拜登在几个月前曾明确表示不会赦免亨特。如今他宣布对亨特进行赦免，不仅违反了他此前的承诺，也让外界对其政治判断产生了质疑。

吕祥认为，拜登之前表示不会赦免自己儿子，是因为他相信自己还可能获得另一个任期。而现在决定赦免，意味着他深知自己的政治影响已然走到尽头。在过去几十年里，克林顿总统曾经赦免过自己的哥哥，而拜登将这一司法特权用于自己儿子，这无疑是为总统滥用司法特权提供了一个全新的案例。

他表示，拜登这一做法无疑为对手共和党攻击民主党提供了口实。

Biden Announces Pardon for His Son! What Are the Details Behind It?

Source: Guo Shi Zhi Tong Che 2024-12-03 08:53

Text by Zhao Bin

On December 1st local time, U.S. President Biden announced a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden.

According to media reports earlier, Hunter Biden, 54 years old, is the first child of a sitting U.S. president to face criminal charges. He was accused last September of lying on a background check form when purchasing a revolver in October 2018, concealing the fact that he was "using illegal drugs," that is, drug use. In addition, he was also charged with nine federal tax crimes.

Previously, Biden had clearly stated that he would not pardon Hunter.

Why Does the U.S. President Have the Power to Pardon?

Lv Xiang, an expert on American issues at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the U.S. Constitution stipulates that the President of the United States has the power to pardon. According to the judicial interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Constitution grants the President the power to pardon, conditional pardon, commutation of sentence, conditional commutation of sentence, remission of fines, suspension of sentence, and amnesty.

However, according to the U.S. Constitution, the President can only pardon sentences imposed for federal crimes and has no pardoning power over cases that violate state and local laws. The U.S. Constitution does not specify the scope of the President's pardoning power, but the President's Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice submits recommendations on pardon matters to the President, who has the right to decide whether to pardon on his own.

Lv Xiang explained that according to U.S. law, applicants can only apply for a presidential pardon five years after being convicted by a court. However, in practice, the U.S. President can pardon at any time without the need for the applicant to apply, and the President can even make a pardon decision before the applicant is convicted by a court or even before being formally charged.

Analysts say that as an institutional design, the President of the United States is granted the power to pardon, with the original intention of providing a degree of checks and balances among the three branches of the U.S. government, that is, to correct improper judicial actions.

Which U.S. Presidents Have Used the Power to Pardon?

According to a statistic on the website of the U.S. Department of Justice, after World War II, Truman was the U.S. President who approved the most pardons, with 1,913 people; following him was President Eisenhower with 1,110 people; Lyndon Johnson pardoned a total of 960 people, ranking third; President Nixon, who was pardoned himself, also pardoned 863 people.

According to the process, the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice is responsible for reviewing formal pardon petitions. After investigating the case, the Pardon Attorney submits the petition and related materials to the Attorney General. After reviewing the case file, the Attorney General decides whether to recommend a pardon for a criminal to the President.

In the matter of pardons, the President's word is final. The White House and the staff of the Department of Justice review the applications for pardons and then recommend to the President who should receive pardons, but the President has absolute freedom to grant pardons or commutations for any reason, although politically the President may need to explain pardons, legally he does not have to do so.

Some analysts point out that in recent years, presidential pardons have rarely involved serious crimes, mainly civil misdemeanors, and many obscure individuals have been pardoned by U.S. Presidents using their pardoning power. Former President George W. Bush pardoned people who committed crimes such as mail fraud, providing false testimony to government agencies, smuggling counterfeit products, and embezzling public funds.

Lv Xiang said that pardoning these misdemeanors can establish an image of "generosity" for the President and even directly gain votes from the beneficiaries and those they can influence in the election. Some U.S. Presidents have pardoned individuals involved in cases that are over a hundred years old and where the parties have passed away, which is to express a certain political viewpoint.

Why Did Biden Risk "Embarrassing Himself"?

Biden had clearly stated a few months ago that he would not pardon Hunter. Now his announcement of a pardon for Hunter not only violates his previous promise but also raises questions about his political judgment.

Lv Xiang believes that Biden previously stated that he would not pardon his own son because he believed he could still win another term. The decision to pardon now means that he is well aware that his political influence has come to an end. In the past few decades, President Clinton pardoned his own brother, and Biden's use of this judicial privilege for his son undoubtedly provides a new case of the President abusing judicial privileges.

He said that Biden's action undoubtedly provides a pretext for the opposing Republican Party to attack the Democratic Party.