Court records show that Devon Archer, an ex-business partner of first son Hunter Biden whose congressional testimony blew wide open an impeachment probe involving alleged Biden family corruption, is also cooperating in an unrelated yet bizarre murder-for-hire plot.
Archer’s lawyers have leveraged their client’s cooperation in both the Vermont murder-for-hire case and the congressional impeachment inquiry to secure a successful delay of his sentencing last month in a securities fraud case, for which he was convicted in 2018, Just the News reported.
According to the court docket, U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams granted Archer’s motion to argue the sentencing and scheduled a hearing date for Nov. 8, 2024.
“The primary reason for this request is to allow Mr. Archer to complete his ongoing cooperation with Congressional and Department of Justice investigations, and to allow the Court to have all relevant information about that cooperation at sentencing,” defense lawyer Matthew Schwartz wrote.
Court files indicate that Archer is also serving as a witness in a separate Vermont prosecution involving a murder-for-hire scheme and fraud.
According to a Justice Department press release, the defendants in that case, Serhat Gumrukcu of Los Angeles and Berk Eratay of Las Vegas, were charged with wire fraud related to a murder-for-hire plot and the kidnapping and death of Gregory Davis in January 2018.
Archer is cooperating with investigators because he was a victim of one defendant’s fraud scheme and is not “in any way involved in the alleged criminal conduct in that case,” his lawyer informed the judge.
Archer’s testimony last year became a key element in the House Oversight Committee’s impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden. According to court filings, he has continued to cooperate with the committee’s inquiry.
In 2018, Archer was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud in a Manhattan federal court for his involvement in a tribal bonds scheme linked to some of Hunter Biden’s associates, although Biden himself was never implicated in that scheme, Just the News reported.
Another defendant in the case, Jason Galanis, later informed the House Oversight Committee that the fraudulent scheme he and Archer set up was intended to raise funds for a hedge fund involving Hunter Biden, a firm his father was expected to join after his vice presidency. Evidence suggests that Hunter Biden was closely associated with Burnham Asset Management, the firm at the center of the fraud scheme.
In February 2022, Archer was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Following an appeal, his legal team argued that he was sentenced based on incorrect guidelines and that his lawyer failed to challenge this error effectively. In May, the federal judge upheld the appeal and ordered a resentencing, the outlet noted further.
Archer’s lawyer indicated that his client is still providing documents to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees and is actively responding to their inquiries.
The lawyer also stated that Archer is anticipated to testify in open hearings before the House committees in the upcoming weeks, although a specific date had not been scheduled at the time the letter was written on July 16. However, no hearings with Archer have occurred in the month following the letter.
“It is unclear if President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek reelection just days after Archer’s letter had or will have any effect on the ongoing investigation,” Just the News added.
Last year, Archer testified to the committee that he viewed his former business partner, Hunter Biden, as a “lobbyist” who used his “very powerful name” to secure millions in deals with foreign oligarchs and businesses. This included a Ukrainian energy firm, Burisma, seeking protection from corruption investigations and other legal issues.
In a July 2023 transcribed interview with the Oversight Committee, Archer stated that Joe Biden, as vice president, helped his son strengthen a family “brand” that attracted foreign clients seeking influence in Washington. The value sometimes included the current president attending dinners or engaging in phone conversations with clients from China, Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, the report added.
