Hunter Biden's lawyers alerted the Arkansas judge presiding over the child support lawsuit against him that he will be unable to attend his scheduled court deposition this week, citing travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus and the approaching due date of his pregnant wife.
Biden was ordered last Thursday to appear at the court on Wednesday, March 11, for a deposition in the ongoing child support case, but his lawyers told the court in a Wednesday filing that Biden would be unable to attend.
"Defendant requests continuance of the hearing as he is unavailable to attend due to his wife's due date in 2 and a half weeks or less and risks involved with travel," the new filing states.
Biden's lawyers further argue that it is unreasonable for him to be required to travel to Arkansas at all, saying the appearance is "burdensome and oppressive."
"It is unsafe for the Defendant to travel, as travel restrictions have been implemented both domestically and internationally, particularly on airlines, due to the coronavirus," the filing states. "Setting aside personal endangerment, Defendant reasonably believes that such travel unnecessarily exposes his wife and unborn child to this virus. California, in particular, has been the site of numerous reported cases of exposure."
The latest filing in the case also points to "intense media scrutiny" on Biden due to his father Joe Biden's campaign for president.
"The tremendously elevated media scrutiny creates some physical risks and logistics difficulties with travel to Arkansas, invades the privacy of the Defendant and his 8 and a half month pregnant wife, threatens to complicate the Court's ability to conduct a public hearing, creates a highly prejudicial environment from Defendant, and cannot be in the child's or his mother's interest in any way," the lawyers argue.
Biden has already been declared the father of the nearly two-year-old Arkansas child, but has repeatedly avoided appearances in court. Lawyers for the child's mother, Lunden Alexis Roberts, last Friday called for the court to hold Biden in contempt for his continued failure to provide financial documents.
"The defendant has continued to flaunt the orders of this Court by failing to answer discovery, comply with court orders, and provide his financial information," lawyers for Roberts argued.