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Devon Archer, former business partner of Hunter Biden, appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Monday for a closed-door interview concerning his knowledge of Biden’s business dealings. According to a source familiar with the interview, Archer stated that Hunter Biden was selling the “illusion” of access to his father, President Joe Biden. However, Archer did not provide any evidence connecting the president to his son’s foreign business ventures.
After the interview, a second source clarified that Archer meant that Hunter Biden was selling the illusion of access to Washington, DC, and knowledge of how it operated, rather than direct access to the president. Both Republicans and Democrats have attempted to use portions of Archer’s testimony to support their political narratives. Matthew L. Schwartz, Archer’s counsel, stated that his client had honestly and completely answered the committee’s questions, leaving it up to them to determine what to do with the information.
During the questioning, Archer confirmed that Hunter Biden had put his father on speakerphone in front of business partners, but insisted that they never discussed any business matters. Archer’s testimony comes as House Republicans shift their focus from trying to impeach members of Joe Biden’s Cabinet to linking the president himself to his son’s controversial business dealings. Rep. Dan Goldman, a Democrat on the panel, stated that there was a lack of evidence connecting the president to his son’s foreign ventures.
Goldman also pointed out that it was not unreasonable for a father to say hello to people his son was dining with, and that the phone conversations were not conflicts of interest as they did not further Hunter Biden’s business interests. He argued that the investigation was a waste of time if House Republicans were unable to produce any documentary evidence linking the president to his son’s business dealings.
However, GOP Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, maintained that Archer’s testimony raised questions about Joe Biden’s knowledge of his son’s foreign business dealings and suggested that the president had been untruthful in his previous denials. Comer accused Biden of lying about his family’s business ties and promised that the committee would continue to investigate the matter.
The White House highlighted Archer’s testimony that he never heard President Biden discuss business with his son or his son’s associates, or do anything wrong. The White House spokesperson criticized House Republicans for failing to provide any bombshell evidence to support their attacks against the president. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has been consulting with former House GOP Speaker Newt Gingrich regarding the issue, has indicated that Republicans have not yet verified the most salacious allegations against Biden.
Over the weekend, the Justice Department requested that Archer surrender to prison to begin serving his one-year sentence resulting from an unrelated fraud case. Some Republicans speculated that the timing of this request was an attempt to prevent Archer from answering questions about Hunter Biden before the committee. However, the government explicitly stated that Archer’s sentence should begin after his congressional testimony.
Archer’s attorney stated that his client did not believe the Justice Department’s request was connected to the upcoming interview and reaffirmed that Archer would show up and honestly answer the committee’s questions. While some Republicans found the timing of the DOJ’s letter to be odd, no conclusive link was established between the request and the interview.
