Republicans Oversell Archer’s Testimony About Hunter and Joe Biden

Congressional testimony by Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Devon Archer, on July 31 led to competing narratives about what Archer said, and how damaging his testimony was to President Joe Biden. The release of a transcript of Archer’s testimony on Aug. 3 undermined some of those narratives.

Archer revealed that on about 20 occasions over a 10-year period, Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone to exchange pleasantries with Hunter Biden’s foreign business associates, part of what Archer described as the “brand” that Hunter Biden brought to foreign business deals.

But contrary to what some Republicans claimed, Archer said Joe Biden never discussed any business on those calls, and more often than not did not even know to whom he was speaking. Archer said he had no knowledge that Hunter Biden ever influenced his father to change any policies to further his son’s businesses.

Republican Rep. James Comer, chairman of the oversight committee, has accused Joe Biden of taking a bribe from a Ukrainian executive and said after Archer’s testimony that the bribery allegation is “more credible” — though Archer said he did not know anything about such a bribe.