Hunter Biden's former business partner Devon Archer, who was also a Burisma board member, is scheduled to testify behind closed doors on Monday before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee that is investigating President Joe Biden's family and their business dealings.
Controversy erupted over the weekend after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York requested a trial judge to determine a date for Archer to report to prison to serve his one-year sentence for an unrelated fraud conviction.
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This prompted several House Republicans to call on colleagues to return to Washington, D.C., despite Congress being in recess. "The DOJ is now actively committing the crime of obstructing a congressional investigation," Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) posted on X (previously known as Twitter). "If Devon Archer isn't in the witness chair Monday, we better haul every SOB at the DOJ before congress EVERY DAY to make them pay for this."
House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) called the timing of the Department of Justice's request "odd" during a Fox News appearance on Sunday.
Here's what we know about Hunter Biden's former associate who is testifying before the House Oversight Committee.
Evading the committee
Archer has canceled scheduled depositions with the committee on three occasions. The committee issued a subpoena for Archer's testimony last month with a deadline of June 16, which he missed.
Archer's testimony has been sought by the committee because it has "identified Mr. Archer as possessing information relevant to its investigation."
History with Hunter Biden
His testimony is so important to the committee because of his proximity to both Hunter Biden and the rest of the Biden family, especially their business dealings. Archer served alongside the younger Biden on the board of Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company at the center of allegations of influence peddling from President Joe Biden and his family. He also worked with Hunter Biden on several other business ventures through Rosemont Seneca, their investment firm.
Further, Archer would be the closest business associate to date to testify before the committee. Depending on his testimony, he has the highest potential to implicate the president and his family members more than anyone else.
Hunter has praised Archer heavily in the past
In his memoir, the president's son described his business partner as a "self-made, supermotivated former college lacrosse player with a disarming charm who'd flown all over the world to raise money for his real estate investment firm."
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Archer introduced Hunter to Burisma
His business associate was actually the one to recruit him for the Burisma gig, which was seen as a large conflict of interest for then-Vice President Joe Biden. This is one of the focal points of the House Republican investigation into Biden's alleged influence peddling.
Another business associate of Hunter Biden, however, declined an invitation to join Burisma. Chris Heinz, the stepson of John Kerry, "strongly warned Mr. Archer that working with Burisma was unacceptable. Mr. Archer stated that he and Hunter Biden intended to pursue the opportunity as individuals, not as part of the firm," a spokesperson told the Washington Post.