DOJ tries to jail Hunter Biden partner on eve of testimony

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

One of the most anticipated items on the congressional docket this week is the appearance of Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden, to provide testimony to the House Oversight Committee regarding Joe Biden’s involvement in the First Son’s influence peddling schemes during his time as Vice President. But those plans may have a wrench thrown into the works if the Justice Department has its way. We learned this weekend that the DoJ is attempting to have Archer arrested and thrown in jail before he can appear to provide testimony. Archer was previously convicted of a separate fraud scheme involving a Native American tribe, a conviction that was upheld last week after an initial appeal. But it’s impossible to ignore the suspicious (to say the least) timing of this urgent demand by the DoJ that he be imprisoned immediately. (NY Post)

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The Justice Department is pushing for Devon Archer to report to prison — just days ahead of the former Hunter Biden business partner’s hotly anticipated congressional testimony, according to new court documents.

Manhattan federal prosecutors on Saturday filed a letter requesting a judge set a date for Archer to start his one-year sentence in a fraud case unrelated to the first son’s various scandals.

The request came after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Archer’s 2018 conviction last Tuesday on two felony charges for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe.

As we’ve discussed here previously, having Devon Archer testify is something of a double-edged sword in the Oversight Committee’s investigation into the shady affairs of Biden Inc. On the one hand, he is one of the first-hand witnesses who was a player in Rosemont Seneca Partners, Hunter’s company that was used to funnel money from foreign interests into his own family’s coffers. He is prepared to testify that he was on the line for multiple conference calls where Hunter dialed in his father to “close the deal” with foreign entities he was seeking money from and even attended two dinners where the elder Biden was present with those “clients.”

But at the same time, he’s been found guilty of fraud in another case, calling his honesty and credibility into question. And yet, if Devon Archer is such a dishonest fraud, why was Joe Biden doing business with him? (Not to mention Hunter.)

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The timing of this maneuver is simply beyond the pale. Archer still has other appeal options in the separate fraud case and his attorney is currently reviewing them. There is no rush to get him behind bars. Also, even people who are incarcerated are regularly allowed to be released to provide testimony in other cases. It’s also worth noting that Archer was sentenced to one year in prison, a term which would keep him on ice until very close to the end of the coming election cycle. Could the Justice Department be any more transparent in their efforts to keep his testimony away from the Oversight Committee and out of the public eye?

In any event, the scheme looks as if it won’t succeed. Archer’s attorney says that a decision on reporting to prison will be made on Wednesday and his client still plans to testify before the committee today. And the situation has become sufficiently inflamed that even CNN is reporting on it, albeit briefly. And, of course, they won’t go further than calling Hunter’s business arrangements “controversial.” (Emphasis added)

As a result, House investigations related to Hunter Biden are now expected to take center stage as Republicans continue to try to link the President to his son’s controversial business dealings.

But speaking to CNN in recent weeks, McCarthy signaled that Republicans have yet to verify the most salacious allegations against Biden, namely that as vice president he engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national in order to benefit his son’s career, an allegation the White House furiously denies.

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The White House can “furiously deny” these findings all they like. But James Comer has the receipts and is unearthing more bank records every week. Sooner or later Joe Biden is going to have to answer as to why all of those foreign entities were sending him and his family so much money and whether or not he paid taxes on all of it. It’s virtually impossible to conceive of any legitimate explanation for all of this. It truly does feel as if the walls are closing in on the Bidens now and the clock may be ticking.

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Ed Morrissey 12:40 PM | November 21, 2024
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David Strom 11:20 AM | November 21, 2024
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