WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned a former business partner of Hunter Biden of participating in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe.
Devon Archer later became a key figure in the into the Biden family businesses, telling lawmakers behind closed doors that the younger Biden sold the 鈥渋llusion of access鈥� to his father.
Before signing the pardon, Trump said Archer was treated 鈥渧ery unfairly.鈥� White House staff secretary Will Scharf said the 鈥渢one and tenor鈥� of the prosecution changed after Archer began to cooperate with congressional investigators in the Biden family inquiry.
Archer was convicted in 2018 in a scheme to defraud the tribe that involved the sale of bonds. His conviction was overturned later that year before the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. He was sentenced in 2022 to a year in prison.
Archer has denied any wrongdoing and called himself a 鈥渧ictim of financial fraud.鈥� In a Fox News appearance on Monday, Archer said of the potential pardon: 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 need this because I never did anything.鈥�
Archer in 2023 as GOP lawmakers tried to make the case for impeachment proceedings against President Biden. Archer told the committee that President Biden was never directly involved in their financial dealings, though Hunter would often put his father on speakerphone to impress clients and business associates.
Archer's testimony portrayed the president鈥檚 son as capitalizing on his father鈥檚 name, but not necessarily promising or delivering any influence that would rise to a questionable level or approach wrongdoing. At one point, Archer was asked point blank: 鈥淎re you aware of any wrongdoing by Vice President Biden?鈥�
He responded, 鈥淣o, I鈥檓 not aware of any.鈥�
Hunter Biden was convicted last year in two separate cases of and . President Biden , reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.
Alanna Durkin Richer And Darlene Superville, The Associated Press
