Though the matter of child support payments for Hunter Biden's out-of-wedlock daughter in Arkansas was seemingly settled in 2020, Biden himself reopened the matter last year when he requested that those payments be recalculated in light of reduced income on his part, which predictably led to requests from the mother, Lunden Roberts, and an order from the court for Biden to turn over all relevant information about his financial situation.
Biden apparently has failed to do so, which prompted the filing of a motion from Roberts' attorneys last week that asked the court to send him to the county jail in the Natural State until such time as he has fully complied with the discovery process, Breitbart reported.
The attorneys for Roberts filed a motion on Friday in the Independence County court that made reference to a protective order that Judge Holly Meyer had issued in the case in February that was "intended so that the defendant would fully answer discovery instead of constantly objecting and asserting the need for protection."
In light of that protective order, there was "an expectation of great compliance with discovery,'" and it was further noted that Biden had been directly ordered by the court to "provide specific information related to discovery at the last hearing in this matter."
Yet, in the two months that have elapsed since that hearing in February, the motion stated that Biden "has provided no additional discovery -- not so much as one single item or word -- and has failed to supplement his answers at the court’s directive."
Roberts' attorneys proceeded to assert that there was "no valid excuse or justification" for Biden's continued delays, that he was "playing games with this court," and that his "actions are a willful and flagrant violation of this court’s previous order entered on the defendant’s motion."
As such, "This court should incarcerate the defendant in the Cleburne County Detention Center until he complies with this court’s orders and answers discovery. In the alternative, this court should sanction the defendant as appropriate and just."
The motion further called out Biden for his "repeated filing of spurious motions for protective orders and contemptuous acts," as well as for "engaging in vexatious litigation practices," for having "intentionally frustrated the litigation," and for having forced Roberts to "incur excessive attorney's fees."
As such, the motion requested both that Biden be compelled to appear before the court to explain in person his need for the protective orders as well as be ordered to pay all costs and fees incurred by Roberts in relation to the litigation.
It further asked the court to hold Biden in contempt, compel his compliance with discovery, make changes to the scheduling, and apply sanctions to Biden and his attorney.
According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a hearing was held by Judge Meyer on Monday via Zoom, and while she didn't order Hunter Biden jailed for his non-compliance with court-ordered discovery, she did express her frustration with the constant delays along with the inability of Biden's attorney, Brent Langdon, to answer relevant questions, including with regard to his abandoned laptop.
Further, the judge ordered both Biden and Roberts to appear in person for all subsequent hearings until the case was concluded.
"From now on ... I want both of your clients at every hearing I conduct," Meyer told the attorneys. "I will no longer allow us to excuse clients ... because it is interfering with the progress of litigation, which is taking way too long to get over simple points."
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 1, with a bench trial tentatively scheduled for July 24-25.
