Devon Archer, a previous close associate of Hunter Biden, is slated to present his testimony before Congress this week. Archer’s evidence is expected to reveal that Hunter Biden, while his father, Joe Biden, was Vice President, would often involve him in discussions with his foreign business partners via speakerphone. Archer, who faces imprisonment for his involvement in a $60 million bond fraud, will speak to the House Oversight Committee about these occurrences.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) expressed interest in hearing Archer’s accounts of the then Vice President’s involvement in Hunter Biden’s overseas business transactions, especially those conducted via speakerphone.
A particular incident of interest took place in Dubai, after a board meeting of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that compensated Hunter Biden $83,000 monthly for his directorship. Archer is anticipated to report that after a dinner with the Burisma board, he and Hunter joined a friend at the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach.
During their time at the bar, they were contacted by Vadym Pozharskyi, a senior Burisma executive. Pozharskyi requested their location as Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s owner, urgently needed to communicate with Hunter. Following this, the Ukrainians joined Hunter and Archer at the bar and requested Hunter to call his father. Hunter obliged and introduced his father to the Ukrainians over the speakerphone.
Congressional investigators are keen to uncover the reasons for Zlochevsky’s urgent need to talk with Joe Biden, particularly given the political climate in Ukraine at the time. Shortly after the call, Joe Biden, the lead representative for Ukraine under the Obama administration, was scheduled to address the Ukrainian parliament on corruption.
Around the same time, US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt criticized corruption in a speech, particularly targeting Zlochevsky. Subsequently, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin was examining Burisma for corruption. His investigation led to the seizure of Zlochevsky’s properties in February 2016. A month after the seizures, Shokin was dismissed after Joe Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in US aid to Ukraine.
Archer’s testimony is also expected to highlight Hunter’s frequent use of the speakerphone during business meetings to impress potential investors. This practice was allegedly witnessed by Archer multiple times. Tony Bobulinski, another former business partner, also reported Hunter’s willingness to involve his father in business discussions via speakerphone.
Bobulinski compared Joe Biden’s role in the family business to that of a chairman in a traditional business structure. Joe Biden met with Bobulinski twice in Los Angeles in 2017 for vetting as CEO of a joint venture with Chinese energy company CEFC, which brought significant profits to Hunter and his uncle Jim Biden.
Archer’s decision to testify was driven by his civic duty, according to a close associate. This move has resulted in threats and warnings to his family to remain silent.
Hunter Biden has reportedly involved his father in many of his business dealings, as Archer is expected to testify about several instances. However, it’s not clear how often Joe Biden was aware of his son’s use of his name for leverage.
Joe Biden has consistently denied any knowledge of his son’s overseas business activities. Recently, an FBI document surfaced alleging that Zlochevsky paid a $10 million bribe to Joe and Hunter Biden. Archer’s testimony is also anticipated to clarify that “big guy”, a term found in an email between Hunter and his business partners, referred to Joe Biden.
