Devon Archer, an associate of Hunter Biden, informed members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on July 31 that President Joe Biden spoke to his son’s business associates on multiple occasions.
In a closed-door interview with Mr. Archer, members of the House panel sought more information on an ongoing investigation into the business activities of the president and his son. After the hearing, Democrats and Republicans delivered different analyses of the testimony, with Democrats downplaying the allegations and Republicans suggesting that they provided crucial new evidence to the probe.
Speaking after the panel interviewed Mr. Archer, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) told reporters that the president had engaged in “casual conversation” with his son’s business associates “20 times over the course of a 10-year relationship” between Mr. Archer and Mr. Hunter Biden.
In 2019, on the presidential campaign trail, Mr. Joe Biden insisted that he had had no role whatsoever in his son’s business dealings—a contention that has increasingly come under scrutiny as Republicans have learned more about Mr. Hunter Biden’s business activities.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said, “Devon Archer’s testimony today confirms Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he had no knowledge about his son’s business dealings and was not involved.
“Why did Joe Biden lie to the American people about his family’s business dealings and his involvement? It begs the question what else he is hiding from the American people.”
However, Mr. Goldman downplayed the significance of these interactions, saying the president’s comments amounted to little more than greetings and small talk. He emphasized that Mr. Archer told the panel that these discussions never touched on business dealings.
“I think it is safe to say … there still is no connection of any of Hunter Biden’s business dealings with President Biden,” Mr. Goldman told reporters after leaving the closed-door interview of Mr. Archer.
“The witness indicated that Hunter spoke to his father every day, and approximately 20 times over the course of a 10-year relationship, Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people, and they never once spoke about any business dealings.”
By Joseph Lord and Jackson Richman
