First son Hunter Biden has resisted giving details to an Arkansas court about his income in a child support lawsuit brought by the mother of a kid he fathered more than four years ago for months through the help of his attorneys.
But after the case’s presiding judge hinted she might arrest him for contempt of court if he continued to disobey her orders, Biden at last disclosed those specifics.
Additionally, the mother, Lunden Roberts, reportedly attended in person to hear Biden’s evidence, according to an exclusive report by the UK’s Daily Mail.
According to the publication, the action “would crank up the pressure on the Biden scion as Roberts’ attorneys prepared to grill him under oath about his earnings from secretive business deals in Ukraine, China, and elsewhere.”
A source disclosed to the Daily Mail: “Lunden has every right to be there – but it is highly unusual. Attending Hunter’s deposition would have been a strategic choice and perhaps a head game. And why not? It’s harder for most people to be untruthful about a person in their presence.”
The source went on to explain:
Hunter’s deposition lasted about seven and a half hours before his sprawling motorcade exited the Stephens Building in downtown Little Rock around 4:30 pm.
The former flames settled the case in 2019 but Hunter abruptly asked a court last year to lower the $20,000 per month in child support he pays for their adorable four-year-old daughter, Navy Joan Roberts.
Roberts, 32, refused to budge until the First Son handed over a trove of financial docs and sat for a videotaped deposition which was supposed to take place at the Arkansas office of her Donald Trump-supporting attorney, Clinton Lancaster.
“Roberts, a former DC bottle girl who once worked as Hunter’s PA, drove in unnoticed about five minutes later. She was deposed at the same high-rise office for seven hours on Wednesday,” Daily Mail added.
President Joe Biden’s son must appear on July 10 in the Independence County Courthouse in Batesville, per an order earlier this month from Judge Holly Lodge Meyer, who is overseeing Biden’s child support case.
The objective was for Biden to explain why he should not be held in contempt of court after Roberts’ attorneys claimed that Hunter had disregarded the judge’s earlier order from May, which required him to disclose information about his financial situation, according to the Washington Examiner.
According to Meyer, Roberts’ attorneys are asking for “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.” Meyer also stated that she plans to take these measures into consideration.
The judge also mentioned 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.”
According to the Examiner:
Navy Joan Roberts, the child in question, was born in Arkansas in August 2018. She was conceived during Hunter Biden’s relationship with Hallie Biden, who is the widow of his late brother, Beau Biden. President Joe Biden has never publicly acknowledged the existence of his granddaughter in his statements during his presidency.
Initially, Hunter Biden denied paternity and claimed to have no recollection of meeting the mother at the Mpire Club in Washington, D.C. However, in January 2020, a judge ruled that DNA test results provided strong evidence indicating that Hunter is the biological father of the child.
In 2020, Hunter reached a settlement of $2.5 million with Roberts, but the case was subsequently reopened.