A yearslong legal dispute over Hunter Biden’s youngest child flared back to life this week, as the president’s son moved to block an effort he says has no basis in their original court agreement.
According to the New York Post, in newly filed court papers Tuesday, Biden argued that his settled child support case in Arkansas should not be reopened, rejecting claims from Lunden Roberts that he should face jail time for allegedly failing to communicate with their 7-year-old daughter, Navy Joan Roberts.
Biden’s legal team said the accusations simply do not line up with what the two sides agreed to when they resolved the case in 2023.
According to the filing, Biden cannot be held in contempt because the court order never required him to maintain communication with the child.
“Any failure to communicate with the Child is not punishable by contempt, as the Order does not order Defendant to communicate with the Child,” Biden’s attorney, Brent Langdon, wrote.
The motion comes after Roberts asked the court earlier this month to reopen the case, claiming Biden failed to live up to the terms of their agreement. She has also sought an increase in child support payments and accused him of refusing to speak with Navy or provide her with his artwork.
Biden, now 55, countered that the settlement was final and that Roberts’ latest demands amount to an improper attempt to relitigate a closed case.
His attorneys stressed that the original order did not impose deadlines or specific conditions related to artwork, which was included as part of the financial arrangement.
“And Hunter never agreed to a date by which his paintings had to be turned over to Navy,” the filing argued.
Langdon further maintained that even if no artwork had yet been physically delivered, that would not constitute a violation of the agreement.
“Even if no paintings had been given to the Child to date, such would not violate the Order, because as long as thirty paintings are assigned to the Child by Defendant will have complied with the Order,” Langdon wrote.
Roberts has alleged that Biden’s actions — or lack thereof — warrant contempt sanctions, including jail time. Biden’s filing flatly rejects that possibility, insisting the court order contains no such enforceable requirement.
The dispute is the latest chapter in a contentious legal saga between Biden and Roberts that has drawn national attention in recent years.
Biden, the only living son of former President Joe Biden, has previously acknowledged personal struggles, including long battles with drugs and alcohol.
Those issues, however, are not central to the current legal argument, which focuses narrowly on the language of the 2023 settlement.
Biden’s lawyers urged the court to dismiss Roberts’ request outright, saying there is no legal justification to reopen the case or impose penalties based on conditions that were never ordered in the first place.
Whether the judge agrees could determine if the long-running child support fight remains settled — or is once again headed back into court.
