Hunter Biden won’t travel to Arkansas this week for a scheduled deposition in his paternity case, citing coronavirus-related travel restrictions and his pregnant wife’s imminent due date.
Biden was ordered last Thursday to appear in court Wednesday, but his lawyers told an Arkansas judge that he would be unable to attend.
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“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 court filing read.
“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. 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 filing continued.
Biden and his wife are renting a 2,000-square-foot home in the Hollywood Hills. Los Angeles County had 19 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Tuesday afternoon.
The former vice president’s son agreed to take a paternity test in October after Lunden Alexis Roberts, an Arkansas woman, claimed he fathered her 18-month-old child. The child, whose name has not been disclosed, was born Aug. 28, 2018.
Biden denied publicly that he had fathered the child, but Roberts said he had admitted otherwise to her in private. A DNA test later indicated that Biden was the father.
Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic presidential front-runner, has continued traveling around the country to campaign ahead of key voting contests. The 77-year-old former vice president is in an age group particularly vulnerable to coronavirus.
