A key associate of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden arrived on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 31 to testify to Congress.
Devon Archer plans to answer questions from the U.S. House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee about the Biden family, one of his lawyers told The Epoch Times.
“Devon Archer believes strongly in the rule of law and the democratic system, and is prepared to answer the Committee’s questions just as he has already answered similar questions from a federal grand jury, the Department of Justice, and several other government agencies in their investigations concerning the Biden family,” Matthew Schwartz, a lawyer representing Mr. Archer, told The Epoch Times via email.
Mr. Archer and his representatives walked past reporters into the room at the O'Neill House Office Building, where he was set to speak to Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the committee, and other members. Mr. Archer smiled but did not answer questions.
“We look forward to speaking with Devon Archer on Monday about Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s business affairs,” Mr. Comer said in a statement.
“I don’t want to put words in Devon Archer’s mouth, but I'll say this—he has an opportunity to come tomorrow to the House Oversight Committee and tell the truth,” Mr. Comer added on Fox News over the weekend. “He has an opportunity to be a hero, like the two whistleblowers were.”
Other evidence accumulated in the investigation includes testimony from IRS whistleblowers and suspicious activity reports, or reports from banks to the Department of Treasury regarding possible wrongdoing.
Friends
Hunter Biden and Mr. Archer both served on the board of Burisma and were also close friends.“Love you brother,” Mr. Archer wrote in one text message to the younger Biden in 2018.
In 2014, Mr. Biden told Mr. Archer that he “just wanted to let you know ... how much I love you,” and called Mr. Archer “a great friend” who had been there “through thick and thin.”
The messages came from a laptop computer Mr. Biden had dropped off at a Delaware store. The computer was verified by the FBI as belonging to Mr. Biden.
While emails show Mr. Biden was involved with Mr. Archer’s firm, Mr. Biden was not charged and his lawyer has said the younger Biden was unaware of the scheme.
Mr. Archer has not yet had to serve his sentence.
Prosecutorial Request
Federal prosecutors on July 29 asked a federal judge overseeing the case to set a surrender date, or start of the sentence, after an appeal from Mr. Archer was rejected.Republicans accused the Biden administration of trying to interfere in their investigation into the president’s family.
“It’s odd that it’s right before he’s scheduled to come in to have an opportunity to come in and speak before the House Oversight Committee and tell the people the truth about what went on with Burisma,” Mr. Comer said on Fox.
“I don’t know if this is a coincidence, or if it’s another example of the weaponization of the Department of Justice.”
Mr. Schwartz said that Mr. Archer would still be appearing to testify on Monday and “honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the congressional investigators.”
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, an appointee of Joe Biden, also wrote a follow-up letter to the court clarifying that prosecutors did not want Mr. Archer jailed before the testimony was given.
“To be clear, the Government does not request (and has never requested) that the defendant surrender before his Congressional testimony,” Mr. Williams said. “For the avoidance of all doubt, the Government requests that any surrender date, should the Court order one, be scheduled to occur after the defendant’s Congressional testimony is completed.”
