He is a troubled soul and troubling son.
Hunter Biden has never made a secret of the personal struggles that afflicted him following the death of his older brother, Beau, in 2015.
Nor could he, realistically, when images of his drug addiction and self-made pornography were splashed across US media.
It’s no secret, either, that his behaviour has impacted politically on his father, the president of the United States.
Listening to his political opponents, they portray the younger Biden as the international arm of a crime family, travelling the world and trading his father’s influence for business contracts and all the while lining the pockets of Biden Snr.
It is political noise amplified by Republicans pursuing congressional investigations of their own, separate from the business of a court in Delaware.
They are big claims, without proof.
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But having a convicted offender at the heart of the story lends traction to the wider criminal narrative, one that now feeds into accusations of a politically-biased Department of Justice.
Joe Biden with son Hunter
Why should Hunter Biden escape jail when former president Donald Trump is staring down the barrel of a lengthy sentence for his alleged crimes?
The president and First Lady have issued a statement that talks of love and support for their son.
They will be, no doubt, comforted that a dark chapter in their son’s life is coming to an end without being laid bare in a criminal trial.
It is a closure of sorts, but everything’s relative.
As the White House pressed ‘send’ on its statement of familial affection, Trump was posting about a broken system.
Hunter Biden may have reached an end in terms of legal recourse, but the politics around him continue to play out.
