DNA testing has established, "with scientific certainty," that Hunter Biden is the father of an Arkansas baby, according to a motion filed Wednesday afternoon in Independence County on behalf of the child's mother, Lunden Alexis Roberts.
Biden, son of former Vice President Joe Biden, "is not expected to challenge the results of the DNA test or the testing process," the filing states.
A hearing in the case was previously scheduled for Dec. 2 in Batesville.
Attorneys for Hunter Biden in Arkansas and Illinois did not return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday afternoon and early evening. The campaign of Joe Biden, who participated in Wednesday night's Democratic presidential candidate debate, also did not respond to requests for comment.
Roberts, 28, played on the Arkansas State University women's basketball team and graduated from the school in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Originally from Batesville, she took classes at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., after earning her undergraduate degree. While studying in Washington, she met Biden, according to Roberts' attorney, Clint Lancaster.
She gave birth in August 2018. The name of the child, referred to in court documents as "Baby Doe," has not been disclosed.
In a "Motion to Seal with Incorporated Brief," Roberts is asking 16th Judicial Circuit Judge Don McSpadden to "seal the full name and date of birth of Baby Doe as well as all other identifying information about Baby Doe that either is or may become part of the record in this case."
The motion, while acknowledging the need to "protect the public's access to court records," argues that there are compelling reasons to withhold certain identifying details about the child.
[DOCUMENT: Motion to seal » arkansasonline.com/1120seal/]
The baby's "paternal grandfather, Joe Biden, is seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party for President of the United States of America," it notes. "He is considered by some to be the person most likely to win his party's nomination and challenge President [Donald] Trump on the ballot in 2020."
Biden family members receive or qualify to receive protection from the U.S. Secret Service, and Baby Doe's relationship to the Bidens "could put the child and those close to the child at risk of harm for the same reasons the Biden family is protected by the United States Secret Service," the motion states.
A "Motion for Attorney's Fees and Costs Pendente Lite with Incorporated Brief," also filed Wednesday on Roberts' behalf, seeks $10,190 in attorney's fees and $867.80 in costs from Hunter Biden, including "travel expenses related to the recent DNA tested in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on November 9, 2019."
The fees and costs are a "direct result of [Hunter Biden's] refusal to continue to support his child and the course of the litigation in this case."
Filed on May 28 in northeastern Arkansas, the suit stalled for nearly two months, hampered by process servers' initial inability to locate Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden, who has publicly denied having sexual relations with Roberts, initially questioned whether Arkansas' courts had jurisdiction, arguing that he hadn't been properly served with a copy of the lawsuit.
Months after the suit was filed, he agreed to take a DNA test, according to documents filed by Lancaster.
Cheek swabs were collected from both sides on Nov. 8 at a lab in Oklahoma City, Lancaster said in an interview.
"Hunter Biden appeared at the lab in person," Lancaster said.
He was accompanied, Lancaster said, by Melissa Cohen, the South African woman he married in May.
Roberts and her baby were also in the building, but the two sides never interacted, according to Lancaster.
"By request, the parties were kept separated," he said.
Lawyers from both sides were present, he said.
The process went smoothly, according to Lancaster.
"We started at 8:30 a.m., and we had DNA results in our hands by 3 p.m," he said.
The outcome was never in doubt, Lancaster said.
"She always knew that the DNA test would prove that he was the father," he said. "She has always maintained that there could be no one else who was the father of this child."
Although the DNA tests were returned Nov. 9, Roberts delayed filing anything for 11 days, Lancaster said.
"She wanted to give Hunter and the Biden family time to communicate and discuss this issue before it reached the media," he said.
She has also been cautious about sharing photos of her baby online, he added. She doesn't want the Bidens to see the baby for the first time in a tabloid or on Fox News, he said.
With the paternity test complete, the focus can shift to the father's child support obligations, Lancaster said.
"Our firm has not had the opportunity yet to engage in discovery related to Mr. Biden's income or assets," Lancaster said.
Hunter Biden's financial obligations can be addressed at the Dec. 2 court hearing, he said.
"It seems axiomatic to me he should pay something to support his child," he added.
A graduate of Georgetown University and Yale Law School, Hunter Biden, 49, is a member of the bar in Connecticut and the District of Columbia who has worked as an attorney, lobbyist, a private equity investment partner and a board member for a Ukrainian natural gas company.
For a time, he served on Amtrak's board of directors.
Trump has made Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine an issue during the 2020 campaign. Both Bidens have denied wrongdoing. Hunter Biden's Ukraine ties have been highlighted by Republicans serving on the U.S. House committee overseeing the Trump impeachment inquiry.
Trump's 2020 reelection campaign highlighted Wednesday's news, tweeting, "Congratulations, Joe Biden!" along with a link to an online Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article about the latest paternity suit development.
As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, Trump's message had been retweeted 5,500 times and liked 18,000 times.
While the paternity suit has generated headlines, the intent was never to undermine the Bidens or to raise Roberts' profile, according to Lancaster.
"Inside Edition calls or emails about once every two weeks, and they've made it clear they'd pay her for an interview," he said. "She's not interested in being on TV or in the news. This is not a media spectacle for her. This is something she was forced to do to get support for her child."
Moving forward, Roberts' focus will be on caring for her "wonderful, little, healthy, happy, baby," he said.
A Section on 11/21/2019