Washington—On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump announced a pardon for Devon Archer, a past business associate of Hunter Biden. Archer had been convicted in a case involving a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe through the sale of fraudulent bonds. Archer later emerged as a crucial figure in a congressional investigation examining the business activities of the Biden family. Behind closed doors, Archer disclosed to lawmakers that Hunter Biden marketed the “illusion of access” to his father, President Joe Biden.
Prior to authorizing the pardon, Trump remarked that Archer was treated “very unfairly.” Furthermore, Will Scharf, White House staff secretary, indicated that the nature of the prosecution shifted post-Archer’s cooperation with the congressional probe into the Biden family finances.
Archer’s conviction in the fraudulent bond scheme occurred in 2018; however, it was initially overturned within the same year. Subsequently, in 2020, the court of appeals in New York reinstated the conviction. By 2022, Archer was sentenced to serve one year in prison. Despite these proceedings, Archer maintained his innocence, referring to himself as a “victim of financial fraud.” While speaking on Fox News recently, Archer expressed surprises about the necessity for a pardon, asserting, “I didn’t think I’d need this because I never did anything.”
In 2023, Archer gave testimony before the Republican-majority House Oversight Committee as part of the GOP’s efforts to advance impeachment proceedings against President Biden. During the testimony, Archer clarified that President Biden had no direct involvement in their business activities. However, Hunter Biden would sometimes include his father in speakerphone conversations to impress clients. Archer’s testimony depicted Hunter Biden as leveraging his father’s reputation while not suggesting acts that would constitute serious misconduct. He was directly asked if he had any knowledge of Vice President Biden engaging in wrongdoing and replied, “No, I’m not aware of any.”
Hunter Biden, meanwhile, faced convictions last year in separate cases involving federal tax and gun-related charges. President Biden, before concluding his term in office, granted a pardon to his son, a decision that contradicted his earlier commitments to avoid utilizing presidential clemency for family members.