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A judge in Arkansas has ordered first son Hunter Biden to appear in court in person next month to face potential contempt proceedings and possibly even jail time for allegedly hiding his personal finances in a child support case involving a daughter he fathered out-of-wedlock.
Judge Holly Lodge Meyer, who is presiding over Biden’s child support case, issued an order on Monday requiring President Joe Biden’s son to appear at the Independence County Courthouse in Batesville on July 10.
The purpose is for Biden to provide an explanation as to why he should not be held in contempt of court after lawyers representing Lunden Alexis Roberts, the mother of his child, argued that Hunter had failed to comply with the judge’s previous order in May, which required him to disclose information regarding his financial situation, the Washington Examiner reported.
Meyer said the lawyers for Roberts were seeking, and she plans to consider, “punishment or sanctions” against Biden, including “incarceration for civil contempt until such time as the defendant fully answers discovery for a period of up to six months” and “incarceration for criminal contempt for a period of up to six months.”
The judge noted further that Hunter Biden “is hereby given notice that his ‘ability to pay’ is or may become a critical issue in the contempt proceeding” and that he “will have an opportunity at the hearing to respond to statements and questions about his financial status.” Meyer added that Biden “is subject to an express finding by the court that he has the ability to pay.”
The Examiner noted further:
The child, Navy Joan Roberts, was born in Arkansas in August 2018. The child was conceived while Hunter was in a relationship with Hallie Biden, his deceased brother Beau Biden’s widow, and the child has been living with her mother. Joe Biden has repeatedly ignored the existence of his granddaughter in public statements while president.
Hunter Biden had initially denied paternity and any memory of meeting the mother at the Mpire Club in the nation’s capital, but the judge said in January 2020 that the court “finds the results of the DNA tests indicate with near scientific certainty that the defendant is the biological father of the child in this case.” Hunter settled with Roberts for $2.5 million in 2020, but the case was later reopened, and the president’s son is engaged in an Arkansas court battle to lower his payments.
🚨Hunter Biden ordered to appear in court in July and warned he faces JAIL for allegedly concealing his finances in child support payments to daughter he has with stripper https://t.co/AM8XbHGwUz
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 6, 2023
Clinton Lancaster, a Roberts attorney, filed a motion for sanctions and contempt with Meyer’s court in May, arguing at the time that “the defendant was ordered to do something, and he did not,” noting further “that is a habit and a game for Mr. Biden.”
“Right now, Mr. Biden does not want to disclose his income and assets, says that he is somewhat financially destitute, while he lives on a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, has Secret Service protection, and enjoys his time abroad (which he has also lied about in discovery),” Lancaster argued in May.
Also in May, Meyer was critical of Biden during a court-ordered appearance, accusing him of attempting to conceal his income in the case.
She “rebuked the 53-year-old’s legal team during the two-hour proceedings, saying they wrongly concealed details of filings that had already been submitted to the court as part of the ongoing legal saga,” the New York Post reported at the time.
“The ability to redact is somewhat being abused,” Meyer told Biden’s lawyers before she ordered them to refile some related documents.
Biden appeared in the Batesville courtroom to request a reduction in his monthly payments for his 4-year-old daughter with ex-stripper Lunden Roberts.
As part of the case, Biden was asked to provide documentation regarding his financial situation after he reopened his paternity case in September 2020 in an effort to lower his $20,000 monthly payment, The Post said.
