President Trump on Tuesday pardoned Devon Archer, arguing that the former business partner to Hunter Biden was treated unfairly.
Archer become a key figure in House Republicans’ investigation into Biden’s business dealings after he was convicted in 2018 by a federal jury on charges of defrauding a Native American tribe by fraudulently issuing and selling more than $60 million of tribal bonds.
The White House on Tuesday argued that after Archer was prosecuted in a fraud investigation, the “tone and tenor” changed when he cooperated and served as a witness against the Biden family.
“And many people have asked me to do this. I think he was treated very unfairly. And, I looked at the records, studied the records, and he was. He was a victim of a crime as far as I’m concerned. So, we’re going to undo that,” Trump said as he signed the pardon.
The Supreme Court let stand Archer’s criminal conviction last year, rejecting his bid to avoid prison for a second time.
He had previously appealed the issue to the Supreme Court in 2021, but justices declined to hear the case.
In August 2023, Archer sat down with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee behind closed doors as they looked into the Biden family.
In that testimony, Archer testified that Hunter Biden put former President Biden, then the vice president, on speakerphone during some meetings with associates, but he said he was not aware of the former president committing any wrongdoing.
House Republicans at the time sought to connect Biden to his son’s business dealings as they eyed an impeachment injury against the then-president.
