Arkansas Judge Orders President’s Son To Answer Questions About Finances

Topline

Hunter Biden must answer questions about his finances, including his art sales and investments, as part of a child support dispute with the mother of his 4-year-old daughter, an Arkansas judge ruled Monday—one of several legal issues the president’s son is facing as his father launches his re-election campaign.

President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden step off Air Force One, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at … [+] Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, N.Y. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Key Facts

Hunter Biden, 53, appeared before Independence County Circuit Judge Holly Meyer on Monday in Batesville, Arkansas, amid an ongoing child support dispute that stems from his 2017 affair with Lunden Roberts, 32.

Roberts asked Meyer to hold Biden in contempt and send him to jail, alleging he has been withholding financial documents from the court to avoid paying steeper child support.

Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell revealed in court on Monday Biden has already paid $20,000 a month, a total of $750,000, to support his daughter, Navy Joan, whom he has never publicly acknowledged, multiple outlets reported.

Roberts initially filed the paternity suit in 2019 after Biden refused to acknowledge the child, and it was reopened in September when Biden asked Meyer to reduce his monthly payments, citing a “substantial material change in (his) financial circumstances.”

In addition to ordering Biden to answer written questions about his finances, he will sit for a deposition in mid-June, ahead of a trial scheduled for July.

Meyer also chastised Biden’s attorneys for heavily redacting financial documents filed with the court and ordered his legal team to resubmit the documents, including some that were under seal, according to CNN.

Crucial Quote

“I have been very generous to Mr. Biden,” Meyer said about allowing his lawyers to conceal some of his financial information. “But I can’t gag the whole world.”

Key Background

Biden did not contest the results of a DNA test in 2019 that proved he was the girl’s biological father, but has never publicly acknowledged her existence and said in his memoir he has no recollection of the affair, because he was in the throes of alcohol and drug addiction at the time. Roberts has disputed Biden’s efforts to lower his monthly child support payments, and her lawyers have claimed he is downplaying his financial hardship while “living lavishly.”

Tangent

Hunter Biden’s lawyers met with Justice Department officials Wednesday to discuss potential federal charges in a long-running case before the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s office. Federal prosecutors are reportedly weighing whether to charge Hunter Biden with two misdemeanors for failing to file taxes in 2016 and 2017, one felony count of tax evasion and another charge for making a false statement on a questionnaire required to purchase a gun. Roberts has testified before the grand jury in the case, gave an interview to FBI and IRS agents and complied with a subpoena for records about Biden’s finances, her attorney told CBS News last year. Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are avidly investigating whether the president influenced his son’s business dealings, including his art sales. House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) renewed his request to a Soho art gallery in January for details about artwork it sold by Biden that was priced at up to $500,000. The president has denied any ties to his son’s dealings.

Surprising Fact

Roberts’ attorneys, Clint and Jennifer Lancaster, are self-described “active Republicans” who were part of the legal team that attempted to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Wisconsin. The Lancasters have attempted to call former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler, who has published some of Hunter Biden’s bank records on a website he operates, as a witness in the paternity case. Ziegler also has a history of antisemitic, racist and misogynistic rhetoric and publicly attacked House lawmakers probing the January 6 Capitol riots. Biden’s attorneys have asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate Ziegler in connection with the Delaware case and sought to block him from the paternity suit.