Hunter Biden failed to provide all of the financial information ordered in a paternity suit and should be held in contempt of court, according to one of the half-dozen documents filed Monday in the case in Independence County Circuit Court.
Clinton Lancaster, the attorney for plaintiff Lunden Alexis Roberts, filed a motion saying Biden still hasn't provided financial records as ordered by Circuit Judge Don McSpadden.
According to Lancaster's motion, Biden filed an Affidavit of Financial Means on Thursday but it didn't include "full and complete tax returns for any of the past five years," his 2017 and 2018 personal tax returns and other documents showing income received.
The court should enter an order compelling Biden to appear at a previously scheduled Jan. 7 hearing at the Batesville courthouse and "show cause as to why he should not be held in contempt," wrote Lancaster.
Hunter Biden is the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, who is a leading 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, numerous polls have shown.
The paternity suit, filed May 28 by Roberts, alleges that she and Hunter Biden "were in a relationship" and that "Baby Doe" was born in August 2018 "as a result of that relationship." The couple met while Roberts was living in Washington, D.C., her attorney has said.
The Arkansas State University graduate is asking the court to establish that Biden is the baby's biological father and to order him to pay child support and provide health insurance for the toddler.
In an affidavit dated Nov. 27, Biden told the court that he is unemployed and has had "no monthly income since May 2019."
McSpadden issued an order on Dec. 4 saying both parties must file Affidavits of Financial Means by Dec. 12 that include their "five most recent paystubs or five most recent years of his/her tax returns."
Biden didn't provide any pay stubs or tax returns with his Dec. 12 affidavit, wrote Lancaster. The financial information is sealed from public view but available to attorneys in the case.
McSpadden amended the order on Dec. 16 to say that by last Thursday, he wanted both parties to provide personal tax returns and all financial documents showing income for the past five years. Roberts' affidavit was filed into the docket on Friday but it's not clear when the court received it.
Biden's attorney, Brent M. Langdon of Texarkana, Texas, sent a supplement to Biden's Affidavit of Financial Means to the Batesville court via first-class mail on Thursday. It was filed into the record on Monday.
Lancaster said he received the supplement to Biden's affidavit on Thursday via email from Langdon.
"Our allegations are that the Dec. 19 disclosure that was filed today does not comply with the interlocutory order filed on Dec. 4, or the other one filed on the 16th," said Lancaster.
Lancaster also filed a motion for custody on Monday, saying Roberts should have "primary physical and legal custody of the only child in this case."
Lancaster asked that the court not award visitation to Biden until he "pleads that matter before the court with specificity as to dates and times of sought-after visitation."
Also on Monday, a private investigator in Florida filed a "Notice of fraud and counterfeiting and production of evidence" in the paternity case.
Dominic Casey of D&A Investigations in Longwood, Fla., said in the document that he was an "intervener" in the case.
McSpadden disagreed, saying that Casey didn't have status as an intervener under Rule 24 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure.
"It is therefore ordered that the 'Notice of fraud and counterfeiting and production of evidence' be stricken as it was not filed in any acceptable manner to this court," according to an order from McSpadden on Monday afternoon.
According to Rule 24, "A person desiring to intervene shall serve a motion to intervene upon the parties as provided in Rule 5. The motion shall state the grounds therefor and shall be accompanied by a pleading setting forth the claim or defense for which intervention is sought."
McSpadden would then have the option to grant or deny the motion.
Casey couldn't be reached by telephone or email on Monday.
According to PRWeb.com, Casey "catapulted to public-figure status when he became the private investigator for the accused young mother Casey Anthony whose toddler Caylee Marie Anthony's disappearance went unreported for 31 days."
Casey said that his search was "prompted by a phone call from a psychic," according to PRWeb.com. Casey Anthony was acquitted of the murder of her daughter.
Dominic Casey's agency has been investigating Biden since Aug. 8, 2016, according to his filing in Independence County Circuit Court.
"Defendant is the subject of more than one criminal investigation involving fraud, money laundering and a counterfeiting scheme," wrote Casey.
Lancaster said he has received a couple of emails from Casey but hadn't read them.
"I don't know him," said Lancaster. "I've seen the pleading. I don't know what to say about it. Salacious allegations is what it looks like. All my client wants is child support. We don't want him to go to jail. You can't pay child support when you're in jail."
Langdon filed a motion 49 minutes after McSpadden ordered Casey's motion to be struck from the record.
In Langdon's motion to strike, he wrote that Casey's filing was "a scheme by a non-party simply to make scandalous allegations in the pending suit to gain some quick media attention."
Questions about Hunter Biden's finances, employment history and previous substance abuse have been raised by Republicans during the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Republicans have criticized Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine and China, noting that they overlapped with his father's time in office.
Hunter Biden's defenders say there's no evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden, portraying the attacks as baseless and politically motivated.
Information for this article was contributed by Frank E. Lockwood of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 12/24/2019