House Oversight Committee Releases Statement Following Devon Archer Testimony
Hunter Biden’s friend and business partner Devon Archer testified in a closed session before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
At the conclusion of the testimony the House committee released the following statement. Hopefully a transcription of the testimony will soon follow.
WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued the following statement following Devon Archer’s four-hour transcribed interview with the committee:
“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. Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family. When Joe Biden was Vice President of the United States, he joined Hunter Biden’s dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone over 20 times. When Burisma’s owner was facing pressure from the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company for corruption, Archer testified that Burisma executives asked Hunter to ‘call D.C.’ after a Burisma board meeting in Dubai.
“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. The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability will continue to follow the Bidens’ money trail and interview witnesses to determine whether foreign actors targeted the Bidens, President Biden is compromised and corrupt, and our national security is threatened.”
Below are key takeaways from Devon Archer’s transcribed interview:
♦Devon Archer testified that the value of adding Hunter Biden to Burisma’s board was “the brand” and confirmed that then-Vice President Joe Biden was “the brand.”
♦Archer admitted that “Burisma would have gone out of business if ‘the brand’ had not been attached to it.” He believed that Hunter Biden being on the board and the Biden brand contributed to Burisma’s longevity. People would have been intimidated to mess with Burisma legally because of the Biden brand.
♦In December 2015, Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma, and Vadym Pozharski, an executive of Burisma, placed constant pressure on Hunter Biden to get help from D.C. regarding the Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin. Shokin was investigating Burisma for corruption. Hunter Biden, along with Zlochevsky and Pozharski, “called D.C.” to discuss the matter. Biden, Zlochevsky, and Pozharski stepped away to make the call. This raises concerns that Hunter Biden was in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
♦Devon Archer testified that Hunter Biden put then-Vice President Joe Biden on the speakerphone during business meetings over 20 times. Archer testified that Joe Biden was put on the phone to sell “the brand.” These phone calls include a dinner in Paris with a French energy company and in China with Jonathan Li, the CEO of BHR.
♦Archer acknowledged that then-Vice President Biden had coffee with Jonathan Li, the CEO of BHR, in Beijing. Then-Vice President Biden even wrote a letter of recommendation for college for Li’s daughter.
♦Archer confirmed Joe Biden was referred to as “my guy” by Hunter Biden.
♦In spring of 2014, then-Vice President Biden attended a business dinner with his son, Hunter, and his associates at Café Milano in Washington, D.C. Elena Baturina, a Russian oligarch who is the widow of the former mayor of Moscow, attended the dinner. Notably, the Biden Administration’s public sanctions list for Russian oligarchs does not contain Baturina. (read link)
As noted by Kaneoka:
November 2010: Joe Biden had a sit-down meeting with Eric Schwerin – the president of Hunter’s private equity firm – in the West Wing.
November 2011: Joe Biden met with Chris Heinz — a co-founder of Hunter’s private equity firm — in the West Wing.
March 2012: Joe Biden met with Andres Pastrana Arango — the former president of Colombia who Hunter was doing business with — at his personal residence.
December 2013: Hunter flew with Joe Biden aboard Air Force Two to China, where he introduced him to Jonathan Li, a Chinese businessman.
February 2014: Joe Biden had lunch with Hunter and two of Hunter’s Mexican business partners and was pictured giving them a tour of the White House.
April 2014: Joe Biden met with Devon Archer — another co-founder of Hunter’s private equity firm — in the White House a week before Archer joined the board of Burisma.
June 2014: Joe Biden met Manuel Estrella — Hunter’s Latin American business associate. After the meeting, Estrella emailed Hunter: “Hunter, I just met your father! So exciting!” Hunter replied: “I’m glad it all finally came together.”
August 2014: Pictures show Joe Biden golfing with his son, Hunter, and Devon Archer while they were both serving on the Burisma board.
April 2015: Joe Biden attended a dinner in Washington, D.C., with Hunter’s business partners from Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.
November 2015: Joe Biden hosted his son’s Mexican business partners — Carlos Slim, Miguel Aleman Velasco, and Miguel Aleman Magnani — at his personal residence.
February 2016: Biden flew Hunter and Jeff Cooper — a family business partner — to Mexico City for a business trip aboard Air Force Two.
May 2016: Joe Biden met with Eric Schwerin — the former head of Hunter’s private equity firm — for dinner in Washington, D.C.
September 2016: Joe Biden attended a fundraiser for Francis Person — a business associate of Hunter’s and a former advisor in Biden’s VP office.
May 2017: Joe Biden met with family business partner Tony Bobulinski TWICE.
June 2018: Joe Biden texted Hunter saying that he was with Jeff Cooper — a family business partner — and that Cooper wanted to “do some work” with him.
Photos, emails, text messages, and White House visitor logs CONFIRM these meetings took place. It’s not up for debate.
Remember, always temper investigative optimism about foreign policy corruption with two big picture realities.
First, the entire business model of DC politics is designed around politicians selling U.S. government policy for personal financial gain. The republicans and the democrats both participate in this endeavor. This is why multi-millionaire candidates will spend $10+ million on a campaign to take a job as a senator earning $400k/yr.
Second, the House Oversight Committee is the Chaff and Countermeasures committee. The congressional committee without specific jurisdiction where all congressional investigations are sent to generate fundraising points, and then die a kick-the-can death.
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