At least five members of the House Judiciary Committee called for lawmakers to return to Washington, DC, for an emergency hearing about the Justice Department’s “interference” in the House Oversight Committee’s scheduled testimony of Devon Archer, a key Biden family associate.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was the first member to demand an emergency hearing into the alleged interference. Then followed Reps. Mike Johnson (R-LA), Chip Roy (R-TX), Harriet Hageman (R-WY), and Dan Bishop (R-NC).
The demands came after House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-KY) revealed Sunday morning that the DOJ requested a judge on Saturday to set a date for Archer to begin a jail sentence regarding an unrelated, prior conviction for defrauding a Native American tribal entity in 2022.
Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Many interpreted the letter as a means by which the DOJ was trying to prevent Archer from testifying before Congress on Monday. Comer said the DOJ rarely conducts business on a Saturday.
“The DOJ is trying to arrest Devon Archer ahead of his bombshell testimony Monday about Joe Biden’s involvement in his son Hunter’s Ukraine business when he was VP,” New York Post‘s Miranda Devine tweeted. “US attorney in the SDNY Damian Williams issued a menacing letter yesterday – Saturday – telling Judge Abrams to order Archer to go to jail immediately to serve a one year sentence for his fraud conviction.”
As the rumor of the DOJ’s shenanigans swirled throughout the day, the agency issued a second letter Sunday in an attempt to either backtrack on its previous request or clarify its actions.
“Update: The weaponized DOJ now “clarifies” they won’t try to prevent Devon Archer from testifying tomorrow,” Mike Johnson tweeted Sunday evening. “Witness intimidation & obstruction? Nah, nothing to see here”:
Update: The weaponized DOJ now “clarifies” they won’t try to prevent Devon Archer from testifying tomorrow. Witness intimidation & obstruction? Nah, nothing to see here. pic.twitter.com/tHQ6ueFfZs
— Rep. Mike Johnson (@RepMikeJohnson) July 31, 2023
Archer’s scheduled testimony could reveal a lot of information about the Biden family, as he goes back a long way with Hunter Biden. In the late 1990s, they attended Yale together. Archer went on to become the vice chairman of finance for John Kerry’s failed 2004 presidential campaign, where he connected with his college classmate Chris Heinz, Kerry’s stepson and another Biden family business partner.
In 2014, Archer served with Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukraine-based energy company. Archer resigned from Burisma’s board after his arrest in 2016. Authorities convicted him of defrauding a Native American tribal entity in 2022, and he was ordered to pay a $43,954,416.75 judgment to the victims.
Some of Archer’s largest deals involved Bohai Harvest, an entity controlled by Chinese state-owned interests.
In 2019, Hunter texted Archer that he was a part of the Biden family and that the price of power was persecution: “Every great family is persecuted prosecuted in the US — you are part of a great family — not a side show not deserted by them even in your darkest moments,” he said. “That’s the way Bidens are different and you are a Biden. It’s the price of power.”
The House Oversight Committee announced late Monday it has subpoenaed Devon Archer (highlighted in red), a Biden family associate, to appear for a deposition to Congress this Friday (Tucker Carlson Tonight).
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
