A settlement in the paternity suit against Hunter Biden was approved Thursday, eliminating the need for him to appear in an Independence County courtroom today.
Circuit Judge Holly Meyer signed the three-page order, which had been drafted by attorneys for Lunden Alexis Roberts and approved by Biden's attorney, Brent Langdon.
All outstanding issues have been addressed, according to Roberts' lead attorney, Clint Lancaster.
"The case is final and done," he wrote in a text message to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
In an email, Langdon portrayed the matter as all wrapped up.
"The Judge has approved the final order and the case has been resolved. There is no hearing [today]," he wrote.
Roberts, 29, and Biden, the 50-year-old son of former Vice President Joe Biden, are the parents of a toddler, referred to in court documents as Baby Doe. The couple met while Roberts, an Arkansas State University graduate, was living Washington, D.C., Lancaster has said. The baby was born in August 2018.
Initially, Biden voluntarily provided financially for the baby, Lancaster stated in a previous court filing. The paternity suit was filed in May 2019, several months after Biden discontinued financial support, Lancaster had said.
After the lawsuit was filed, Biden initially denied that he and Roberts had ever had sex. A DNA test subsequently established, "with near scientific certainty," that Biden was the child's father, the court eventually determined.
Initially, Biden failed to supply Roberts with key financial information as sought in the lawsuit.
In a Nov. 27 sworn affidavit, Biden said he had "been unable to complete an Affidavit of Financial Means as required by Arkansas law at this time because of a lack of complete information necessary to do so."
In the document, he portrayed himself as out of work and deeply in debt.
"In an effort to demonstrate to this Court my good faith, I attest that I am unemployed and have had no monthly income since May 2019," he stated.
In January, with a "show cause" contempt-of-court hearing looming, Biden agreed to pay temporary child support and to provide additional financial information.
Meyer had previously ordered Biden to attend a pretrial hearing in Batesville today, dismissing his claims that the trip might jeopardize his health by exposing him to the coronavirus.
Now that is no longer necessary.
In addition to clearing the court docket, Meyer also dismissed, with prejudice, all the motions for contempt of court lodged by Roberts against Biden. Dismissed with prejudice means the motions won't be refiled.
The "essential terms" of the order have been sealed and will be kept "in a secure location inaccessible by the public," along with related financial records that had previously been sealed by the court.
In the document filed Thursday, Biden's "income for child support purposes" has been redacted along with the amount of monthly child support he must provide.
Biden also has agreed to reimburse Roberts for the cost of their baby's health insurance, beginning on April 1.
In addition, he will pay Roberts an amount for her attorney fees and costs by May 1.
The sums he is obligated to pay were omitted from the publicly available version of the court order.
Only the court, the court clerk and clerk's staff, the parties and their attorneys will have access to the unredacted order, the document stated.
If problems arise in the future, the Arkansas judiciary will be able to intervene.
The court "retains jurisdiction of the parties and the subject matter of this case for any further or additional orders that may be necessary or required in the future," the order states.
The case was filed in Independence County, where Roberts grew up and resides.
The paternity and child-support dispute played out in the midst of a presidential campaign and an impeachment inquiry.
Until April 2019, the younger Biden had served on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. He had accepted the job in 2014 while his father, as vice president, was helping to spearhead U.S. anti-corruption efforts in that country.
Hunter Biden was paid $50,000 per month or more, despite having no known experience in Ukraine or in the natural gas industry, Republican lawmakers have alleged.
President Donald Trump's call for Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens' Ukrainian dealings helped spark the impeachment proceedings that ultimately ended with Trump's acquittal.
While acknowledging that his Ukrainian board membership reflected "poor judgment," Hunter Biden told ABC News in October that it did not constitute "an ethical lapse."
Joe Biden, in an interview in February with NBC's Today show host Savannah Guthrie, dismissed criticism of his son.
"No one's found anything wrong with his dealings with Ukraine except they say it sets a bad image," he said.
Joe Biden won the March 3 Democratic primary in Arkansas, carrying 74 of the state's 75 counties, including Independence County.
Since filing the suit, Roberts has declined all interview requests, Lancaster said.
Roberts had no desire to harm Biden or to undermine his father's presidential campaign, Lancaster has repeatedly emphasized.
In a text message, Lancaster said his client is glad that the legal proceedings have concluded.
Now that they're over, "she plans to continue raising her child and enjoying being mother to a happy, healthy and growing toddler," he wrote.
Biden, who has three children by his first wife, married South African filmmaker Melissa Cohen in May. The pair are expecting a child of their own in a matter of weeks, Biden informed the court this week.
Metro on 03/13/2020