First son Hunter Biden was in an Arkansas courtroom on Monday for a hearing in an ongoing paternity suit in which he is seeking to reduce the monthly child support payment he makes to Lunden Roberts, the mother of 4-year-old Navy Joan, a daughter linked to Biden through a 2019 court-ordered DNA test.

On Monday, Biden's team of attorneys claimed that he is essentially living in poverty but largely redacted and sealed all financial records filed in support of that claim, prompting the judge to admonish them for having "abused" the privilege of redaction, the Daily Mail reported.

"The ability to redact is somewhat being abused," Independence County Circuit Judge Holly Meyer said. "I’m seeing a lot of things filed, especially by Mr. Biden’s counsel, sealing things, redacting things, that are not confidential."

That includes information about the sale of Biden's artwork over the past two years, including who has purchased the art and for how much, and the judge seemed to encourage Roberts' attorneys to subpoena the Manhattan art gallery managing the sales of Biden's work to help reveal that information.

Biden Ordered to Provide Written Answers, Sit for Sworn Deposition

CNN reported that one of Hunter Biden's attorneys, a top Washington D.C. lawyer named Abbe Lowell, informed the court that the president's son has been paying Roberts $20,000 per month in child support, for a total of $750,000 overall, but could no longer afford to do so.

Yet, Judge Meyer called out the attorneys for redacting and sealing or failing to explain so much of the financial information submitted in support of that claim, and said at one point, "You can’t just say, 'these are my tax returns, good luck, you figure it out.'"

"This cryptic hide-the-ball game isn’t going to cut it when we get to trial," she added in reference to a bench trial tentatively scheduled for late July.

In the meantime, Meyer set a date of May 12 for Biden to deliver unredacted written responses to discovery questions about his finances, and also ordered him to sit for a sworn deposition on the matter in mid-June.

Poverty Claim Doesn't Align with Retention of Multiple High-priced Lawyers

The Washington Free Beacon reported that Judge Meyer also took issue with how long the case has been drawn out – she previously ordered both Biden and Roberts to appear in person to reduce any further delays –  and said, "I expect this case to get done," and vowed, "I will run herd on you ladies and gentlemen until that happens."

Despite the lack of supporting documentation, Biden's attorneys argued that the president's son was essentially living in poverty as his Porsche had been repossessed and he'd been forced to sleep on a cot in father President Joe Biden's hotel room during a recent visit to Ireland on Air Force One, as well as that he was just barely getting by on gifts and loans from a celebrity attorney friend in California named Kevin Morris.

However, with regard to the incomplete and redacted financial information submitted, Judge Meyer warned that "incomplete answers are not answers" and told Biden's attorneys, "If you come saying you want to reduce your child support, you need to show me why."

Meanwhile, Roberts' attorneys argued that Biden could afford the child support payments given the fact that he has retained "some of the most expensive attorneys on planet Earth."

In fact, in a recent filing, attorney Clint Lancaster wrote, "If Mr. Biden can afford a Washington D.C., Hollywood, Chicago big law, and the best domestic relations attorney on the Texas side of the Texarkana border, he surely must have income for child support purposes."

House Oversight Committee Watching for Relevant Financial Disclosures

The Washington Times reported that congressional Republicans are closely watching Hunter Biden's child support case for any new revelations as it seemingly parallels their own investigations into his financial situation with regard to his history of questionable foreign business dealings over the years.

Republican House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (KY-01) told the outlet that his committee was particularly interested in learning more about the sales of Biden's artwork by the Manhattan art gallery, and especially wanted to know if the art had been purchased by any of the Chinese nationals that Biden had previously been engaged in lucrative deals with.

"That’s the most important part: who the buyers of this artwork are," Comer said in a recent interview. "We fear they’re the same ones that were laundering the money into [Biden family companies], particularly the Chinese Communist Party."

Comer is reportedly also looking to see if filings in the paternity suit will reveal any offshore bank accounts used by Biden that have escaped the committee's notice thus far.