By Ronn Blitzer | Fox News
A judge has ordered Hunter Biden to appear in court next week for a hearing in the high-profile paternity lawsuit brought by an Arkansas woman.
The order from an Arkansas judge in the case brought by Lunden Alexis Roberts comes after Biden, the son of former vice president Joe Biden, failed to provide financial information in violation of a separate court order.
Hunter Biden must appear and “show cause, if any exists, as to why he should not be held in contempt for any of the alleged violations of this Court’s orders,” Independence County Circuit Court Judge Holly Meyer wrote in a one-sentence order calling for him to appear in court on Jan. 29.
READ LUNDEN ROBERTS’ MOTION FOR CUSTODY, SAYING BIDEN HAS BEEN AN ABSENT FATHER
Hunter Biden has been a frequent subject of conversation among Republicans as President Trump faces impeachment. Trump is accused of abuse of power for allegedly using military aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s efforts to remove a prosecutor who had been looking into Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, where Hunter Biden served on the board.
Trump has indicated that he would like Hunter Biden to testify at the Senate’s impeachment trial, though some GOP senators have been against the idea of having any witnesses testify during the trial.
Roberts’ attorney Clinton Lancaster noted that the paternity case has nothing to do with Trump’s impeachment, according to Arkansas Online.
“My understanding is impeachment proceedings are ongoing,” Lancaster told the outlet. “I have not received any subpoena. I don’t believe we have any stake in the impeachment proceedings. We don’t have any stake in it whatsoever. We need his income so we can determine child support.”
Lancaster has also filed a motion for contempt, arguing that Biden “continues to act as though he has no respect for this court, its orders, the legal process in this state, or the needs of his child for support.” The court had ordered Hunter Biden to turn over five years’ worth of financial information by Jan. 16. He had already missed deadlines of Dec. 12 and 19 of last year.
Hunter Biden’s attorney Brent Langdon did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment on the case’s latest developments.
Hunter Biden initially denied being the father of Roberts’ child, who was born in August 2018, but after a DNA test, the court ruled earlier this month that he is the biological and legal father.
The case has led to wild allegations against Hunter Biden, including claims from Florida-based private investigation firm D&A Investigations that he was involved in a $156 million “counterfeiting scheme.” Hunter Biden’s legal team unconditionally denied the unverified claims, and called the effort another obviously bogus “scheme by a non-party simply to make scandalous allegations in the pending suit to gain media attention without any material or pertinent material.”
D&A was the same firm that worked with the defense team of Casey Anthony, a Florida woman acquitted of murdering her child in a highly publicized trial in 2011. Anthony later accused the private investigator of smearing her for media attention.
D&A’s website is also full of head-turning and unsubstantiated claims, including that CNN anchor Jake Tapper was a “propaganda actor” for Netflix. The website also called Democrats’ impeachment efforts against Trump a “sham.”
Fox News’ Maggie Kerkman and Gregg Re contributed to this report.
