President Trump pardons former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned a former business partner of Hunter Biden who was convicted of participating in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe.

Devon Archer later became a key figure in the congressional inquiry into the Biden family businesses, telling lawmakers behind closed doors that the younger Biden sold the “illusion of access” to his father.

Before signing the pardon, Trump said Archer was treated “very unfairly.” White House staff secretary Will Scharf said the “tone and tenor” 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 “victim of financial fraud.” In a Fox News appearance on Monday, Archer said of the potential pardon: “I didn’t think I’d need this because I never did anything.”

Archer testified before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee 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’s son as capitalizing on his father’s 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: “Are you aware of any wrongdoing by Vice President Biden?”

He responded, “No, I’m not aware of any.”

Hunter Biden was convicted last year in two separate cases of federal gun and tax charges. President Biden pardoned his son shortly before he left office, reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.