Hunter Biden deposed in child support case Friday
First son Hunter Biden was questioned under oath in his Arkansas child support case Friday — with the mother of his out-of-wedlock daughter showing up to watch her lawyers grill the political scion about his finances.
President Biden’s 53-year-old son was deposed by attorneys for Lunden Roberts as part of his bid to lower his $20,000 monthly child support payments for their daughter Navy Joan Roberts, 4.
Hunter arrived at the Little Rock office building for the deposition in a five-car motorcade flanked by members of the Secret Service. Roberts arrived minutes later, according to the Daily Mail.
The deposition began at 9 a.m. local time and was over by 11 a.m.
The 32-year-old former stripper made the “highly unusual” move to attend the questioning session, a source told the outlet, where her lawyers were expected to probe Hunter — a former high-paid lobbyist — about his earnings from business deals abroad.
Hunter Biden was questioned by lawyers for Lunden Roberts, the mother of his out-of-wedlock child. AP
The first son was deposed as he seeks to lower his child support payments for his daughter with Roberts. REUTERS
“Attending Hunter’s deposition would have been a strategic choice and perhaps a head game,” the source was quoted as saying. “And why not? It’s harder for most people to be untruthful about a person in their presence.”
Hunter — who was being deposed for the first time in the case — would also be asked to back up claims that he can no longer afford the current child support payments.
Roberts’ team — who’ve accused Hunter of “living lavishly” — has claimed that he refused to turn over proof of his finances in the case and asked a judge to throw him behind bars for up to six months, claiming he should be held in contempt of court for the alleged deception.
Hunter Biden arriving in a motorcade to be deposed by Lunden Roberts’ lawyers.
“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),” Roberts’ lawyer Clinton Lancaster wrote in a court filing last month.
Roberts’ team has also sought to depose and call at trial former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler as an expert witness.
Ziegler, 27, is the founder of nonprofit Marco Polo, which published a 644-page analysis of the contents of Hunter’s infamous laptop.
Hunter unsuccessfully tried to block Ziegler’s deposition, which was scheduled to take place last month, arguing that he lacked any credentials or actual expertise and alleging he was carrying out a “war” on Hunter.
Judge Holly Meyer declined the first son’s request and the deposition went ahead.
During a hearing in Batesville court at the beginning of May, Meyer chided Biden’s legal team for heavily redacting documents about his finances.
“The ability to redact is somewhat being abused,” the judge said, before ordering the first son’s team to refile some of the financials.
Hunter’s lawyer Abbe Lowell, a longtime Democratic fixer, told Meyer that his client had already paid Roberts $750,000 in child support since he acknowledged Navy Joan as his own.
Hunter fathered Navy Joan with Roberts after the pair had a month-long affair. lundentownn_/Instagram
The first son flew into Arkansas for that hearing on a private jet, a trip that was estimated to cost between $55,000 and $117,000.
Roberts initially filed suit against Hunter — with whom she had a one-month fling — in 2019 after he denied he was Navy Joan’s father.
A DNA test later confirmed Roberts claims about her child’s parentage.
Roberts showed up for the deposition to watch her lawyers grill her one-time flame. lundentownn_/Instagram
The pair ironed out a settlement agreement in 2020 but the younger Biden, who has reportedly never met Navy Joan, reopened the case in September of last year seeking an adjustment to the support payments.
Hunter and Roberts are due in court on July 10 for oral arguments on her motion to have him sanctioned, jailed and to force him to pay $20,000 in legal fees.
Roberts has pushed to have her child’s last name legally changed to Biden, with her attorney saying in December of last year that Navy would “benefit” from carrying a family name “now synonymous with being well educated, successful, financially acute, and politically powerful.”
President Biden has repeatedly turned down opportunities to acknowledge Navy as his kin, repeatedly citing his “six grandchildren” in public appearances.
The president’s six other grandchildren were born within wedlock and each year their names are written on Christmas stockings displayed on a White House mantle — with Navy Roberts omitted from the lineup.
Hunter has four other children, including a son with wife Melissa Cohen and three daughters with his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle.
Last week, a trove of photos from the notorious laptop were posted online of the embattled younger Biden – who has publicly shared his struggles with an addiction to crack cocaine.
The images included a naked Hunter with drug paraphernalia and women in skimpy clothes. There were also family photos mixed into the nearly 10,000-photo dump.
Hunter is also being investigated by the Delaware US Attorney for crimes including tax fraud and lying on a federal gun purchase form. He and his dad are also the subjects of a probe by the House Oversight Committee into whether they accepted $10 million in bribes from an executive at Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
The Post reported late Thursday that Hunter’s former business partner, Devon Archer, is in talks to testify before the committee on what he knows about the first family’s business dealings in Russia and Ukraine.
Lawyers on both sides didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Source: New York Post
