Both Hunter Biden, the privileged and troubled son of a president, and Mrs. Roberts, the daughter of a rural arms manufacturer, have allies whose actions have politicized the situation. There is no evidence that the White House is involved in these actions.
Clint Lancaster, the lawyer of Ms. Roberts, has represented the Trump campaign. He also called Garrett Ziegler, an activist and former Trump White House aide who has cataloged and released messages from a cache of Hunter Biden files that appear to have come from a laptop he left at a repair shop , to act as an expert witness in the child support case. In the other corner, allies of Democratic groups dedicated to helping the Biden family have released information about Mr. Ziegler and the Roberts family, seeking to highlight their ties to Trump.
And then there’s President Biden.
Her public image centers on her devotion to her family, including Hunter, her only surviving son. In strategy meetings in recent years, aides have said the Bidens have six grandchildren, not seven, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
The White House did not respond to questions about the case, in line with how officials have previously responded to questions about the Biden family.
Several of the president’s allies fear the case could hurt his re-election prospects by putting more attention on a son some Democrats see as a liability. Others say the far right has focused on Hunter Biden, a private citizen, but ignored any moral and ethical failings of former President Donald J. Trump.
“He’s under more accusations than the players on two Super Bowl teams,” author and political strategist Stuart Stevens, who left the Republican Party in 2016, said of Trump. “But that doesn’t matter: You’ve got Hunter Biden. It’s just rage in search of an argument.”
“People have an image of me”
Lunden Roberts, 32, comes from a clan as close-knit as the Bidens. His father is a red-state gun manufacturer whose hunting buddies include Donald Trump Jr., and who taught him to hunt turkeys and alligators at a young age. He works for the family business, which is located on a winding country road dotted with pastures just outside of Batesville.
