Investigative Group

Arkansas Judge Overseeing Hunter Biden Paternity Case Recuses Without Explanation

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The judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s contentious paternity case in Arkansas recused without explanation Tuesday.

Independence County Circuit Judge Don McSpadden’s recusal comes after lawyers for former stripper Lunden Roberts accused Biden of refusing to provide basic information about his finances in December. A DNA test confirmed in November that Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, is the biological father of Lunden’s 16-month-old child.

Roberts’s attorney, Clint Lancaster, applauded McSpadden’s decision to recuse from the case in a statement to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

“One of the clearest indicators of a judge’s integrity is when he or she recuses from a case,” Lancaster said. “It highlights the ethos and values that make the judiciary such a powerful, separate branch of government. Our client sincerely thanks Judge McSpadden for his time and attention to what has become a difficult and convoluted child support matter.”

McSpadden provided no explanation for his abrupt recusal.

The Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct states that judges should “disqualify” themselves from “any proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”