Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.
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As with the varied allegations against Donald Trump, discussion of the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden is hopelessly politicized. Yet at the business end of the plea deal announced last week in Biden's case is a successful prosecution of criminal activity. Justice is on a path to be done.
Under an agreement that still must be approved by a judge, President Joe Biden's son will plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes (for not having paid the government enough, a situation he's since remedied) and will avoid, with proper behavior, a felony gun charge. (He claimed on a federal form that he was not a user of controlled substances at the time he bought a gun. In fact, as stated in his 2021 memoir, he was addicted to crack cocaine. That substance is illegal because it ruins lives and families and supports further criminal activity, something the junior Biden could not have helped knowing the first time he tried it.)
The deal is not likely to result in jail time.
Whether this is the last justice that will or should apply in connection with Hunter Biden's activities is an open question. His attorney says a criminal probe that began in 2018 with investigation of his business dealings in China and Ukraine is now over. The leading prosecutor, however, says it's ongoing. And U.S. House Republicans who have lit upon the phrase "Biden crime family" with respect to alleged influence peddling can be expected to continue to see if they can find any reliable evidence to attach to it.
Whether the plea deal is considered justice also appears to depend on partisan leanings. An argument of Team Biden supporters is that Hunter Biden has faced consequences that are unusual for the nature of his crimes. People should not object, however, to a high standard for those in proximity to high office.
Meanwhile, Trump partisans and the conspiratorially minded complain that Hunter Biden's relatively easy go of it amounts to two-tiered justice compared with the attention given to Trump's activities.