Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, has been ordered to appear in person before an Arkansas judge in July to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt of court and, if the proceedings don’t go his way, he could face time behind bars.
The president’s son is facing a child support case in Arkansas in which he was ordered by the presiding judge in May to hand over information on his finances.
Attorneys representing Lunden Alexis Roberts, the mother of Hunter Biden’s child, filed a motion on May 18 to hold the president’s son in contempt of court after alleging he had failed to fully answer questions relating to his ability to pay child support.
Judge Holly Lodge Meyer issued an order on June 5 (pdf) saying Hunter Biden must appear on July 10 at the Independence County Courthouse in Batesville to explain “why he should not be held in contempt.”
In Arkansas, contempt of court is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by fines and prison time.
In her order, Meyer said that she would consider “punishment or sanctions” against Hunter 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.”
Roberts sued Biden for child support in 2019.
Initially, Biden denied that the child was his, but a DNA test confirmed he is the father.
In 2020, the two agreed to an undisclosed amount. Terms of the agreement are sealed because they contain sensitive personal information, including the amount of monthly support and each party’s source of income.
However, Biden later asked the court to review the child support arrangements because his financial situation had changed, leading to the case now being considered before the court.
He appeared before Independence County Circuit Court in Batesville on May 1.
During that hearing, his attorney said during proceedings that Biden had been paying $20,000 per month in child support, for a total of up to $750,000 since the support order was signed.
At that hearing, the judge ordered Biden to provide information on his income from his artwork, investments, employment, gifts from friends, and other sources.
The judge also said she couldn’t rule on the amount of child support because neither side had provided enough information in the discovery process to move forward.
Roberts’s attorneys have complained that the Biden team was dragging its feet in the discovery process and filed a motion on May 18 for Biden to be held in contempt.
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