Former US Vice President's Son Gets Unwanted Fame

 

U.S President Donald Trump¹ seems to have found the person he would like to talk about in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election. That man is Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice² President Joe Biden.

Opinion studies of likely voters have shown that Joe Biden is the leading candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination³.

As the target of Trump’s anger, Hunter Biden now sees his name in the news every day. Trump is seeking to identify him as a sign of corruption⁴ in an effort to hurt his father’s presidential campaign.

The 49-year-old Biden has never wanted to be famous like the former vice president. In private, he has struggled with alcohol and drug dependency.

It was Joe Biden’s older son, Beau, who was well-known in Washington, DC. He once worked as a lawyer for the federal government. He later served as the attorney general in his home state of Delaware.

Beau Biden wanted a life in politics, perhaps one day to become a governor or senator, perhaps a president. But he died in 2015 after a fight with brain cancer.

Hunter Biden’s career

Hunter Biden had little interest in politics. After law school, he went to work for MBNA, a large credit-card company, and made a lot of money.

Biden would later work as a Washington lobbyist, trying to influence U.S. lawmakers. He represented universities and technology companies. But he stopped lobbying when his father became vice president in 2009.

After Hunter Biden left lobbying, he set up a service to advise foreign companies interested in doing business in the United States. He did have contacts with China and Ukraine. President Trump calls this work evidence of corruption.

On Thursday, Trump called on China and Ukraine to launch investigations⁶ into Hunter Biden’s work.

In a telephone call last July, Trump urged Ukraine’s president to investigate the Bidens. It was this call that led Democrats⁷ in the U.S. House of Representatives to launch an impeachment⁸ investigation⁵ into Trump.

On Thursday, the president appealed to China to investigate the Bidens. A few minutes earlier, Trump had spoken of ways he could force China to approve a trade deal.

The following day, Ukraine’s top prosecutor⁹ announced plans to reexamine several cases, including one against the owner of the business that employed Hunter Biden.

Joe Biden as a candidate

Joe Biden leads in most opinion polls among the 19 Democrats seeking their party’s presidential nomination. In several polls, he is shown defeating Trump in a presidential vote between the two men.

Biden believes his poll numbers are the reason Trump is making accusations¹⁰ against him and his son.

The Biden campaign accused Trump of abuse of power on Thursday following the president’s suggestion that China investigate both Bidens. The Reuters news agency says the campaign refused its request for comment.

But all the accusations have pushed Hunter Biden into the spotlight¹¹.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words In This Story

attorney general – n. the main legal officer who represents a county or state government in court cases

lobbyist – n. someone who takes part in an organized effort to influence lawmakers

prosecutor – n. a person, usually a government official, who brings legal action or launches court cases against someone or something

poll – n. a public opinion study; an activity in which several or many people are asked a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something

spotlight – n. intense public attention

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

9 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

10 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

11 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。