Hunter Biden Dealt Blow as Judge Rejects Effort to Avoid Court Appearance

Hunter Biden has been ordered by a judge to appear in person at an Arkansas court on Monday despite his attorneys' effort to keep him out of the courtroom for a contempt hearing in a child support and paternity case.

The Arkansas case involves a woman who has said Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, owes her child support. Court documents have shown that a DNA test confirmed the president's son is the father of Lunden Roberts' 4-year-old daughter, and agreed in 2020 to make retroactive child support payments going back to 2018, local CBS affiliate KFSM 5 News reported Friday.

While the case first arose in 2019, its was later reopened as new motions were filed by Hunter Biden and Roberts. These motions included an effort to a modify the amount of child support, changing the child's last name to Biden, and forcing the president's son to appear in person at the courthouse.

Lawyers representing Hunter Biden had made a last-ditch effort to keep their client out of the courtroom, asking the judge if he could appear remotely via video or phone instead. Independence County Circuit Judge Holly Meyer rejected that request on Friday, asserting that "all parties are to physically appear," the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

Meyer also warned that "the court will enforce those orders" for all involved parties.

Meanwhile, Hunter Biden's attorney Brent Langdon had argued that his client should be allowed to appear remotely. He cited "time, expense, logistical challenges and especially the media event any in-person hearing would create," but the judge ultimately dismissed those concerns.

The legal saga in Arkansas continues amid the backdrop of a federal investigation dating back to 2018. That probe seeks to determine if the president's son violated tax law related to various business ventures, including work with foreign clients. Prosecutors have reportedly also considered charges regarding Hunter Biden's alleged lie about his drug use on a gun application form.

The legal issues involving the Democratic president's son have drawn intense scrutiny and backlash from Republican critics. Top House Republicans have vowed to investigate Hunter Biden's various business dealings, with some saying that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is not doing an adequate job. The prosecutor leading the DOJ probe is U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump-era appointee.

The president and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland have vowed publicly not to interfere in the federal investigation.

Jonathan Turley, a conservative attorney and professor at the George Washington University Law School, wrote in an opinion article for The Hill published on Saturday that "time is running out" for Hunter Biden.

"After years of delaying disclosures and admissions, Hunter could now be pushing to cap off the criminal side of the scandal before more information is released in Arkansas and Washington," Turley wrote.

Joe Biden has also faced right-wing criticism for failing to publicly acknowledge his granddaughter involved in the Arkansas case.

On Thursday, Fox News published an article that was headlined: "Biden again refuses to acknowledge Hunter's out-of-wedlock daughter while speaking about grandchildren." The article pointed out that the president mentioned speaking to his "six" grandchildren daily, without acknowledging the seventh grandchild, Roberts' daughter.

According to Fox News, Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have repeatedly disregarded the out-of-wedlock granddaughter in public comments. Republican National Committee's (RNC) deputy communications director Zach Parkinson also drew attention to the issue on Thursday on Twitter.

"There's only three options here, none of which are good: Biden can't remember how many grandkids he actually has, Biden knows and chooses to actively neglect his own grandchild, Hunter hasn't told him/lied to him about the paternity test," Parkinson tweeted.

Newsweek reached out to Hunter Biden's attorney Brent Langdon for comment via email on Saturday morning. This article will be updated when and if any response is received.

Update, 4/29/2023 at 12:31 p.m. ET: Additional analysis from Jonathan Turley was added.