Democrats have been quick to highlight assurances from a former Hunter Biden business partner that Joe Biden never spoke about business with his son’s foreign associates, but they overlook the part of his testimony indicating he was not present for a crucial call.
Devon Archer revealed during closed-door testimony to the House Oversight Committee Monday that Joe Biden spoke with his son’s foreign business associates more than 20 times, according to the committee. But Archer wasn’t party to every conversation, according to House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer.
In December 2015, Hunter Biden, under pressure from Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky and executive Vadym Pozharski, “stepped away” to “call D.C.” about Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma for corruption, according to Comer. Then-Vice President Joe Biden was leading the Obama administration on U.S. policy in Ukraine at the time.
“Hunter Biden, along with Zlochevsky and Pozharski, ‘called D.C.’ to discuss the matter,” Comer wrote. “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.”
During a speech Joe Biden gave in Ukraine that same month, he mentioned that the “Office of the General Prosecutor desperately needs reform.”
Archer also testified the value of adding Hunter Biden to Burisma’s board was “the brand,” meaning then-Vice President Joe Biden, according to Comer. Shokin was fired in 2016 after Joe Biden pressured then-president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko to remove him.
Archer told the committee Hunter Biden sold “the illusion of access to his father,” though he noted the president only engaged in “casual conversation” and “never once spoke about any business dealings,” according to Democratic New York Rep. Dan Goldman. Following Archer’s testimony, Democrats have emphasized his statement that Joe Biden never spoke about business.
White House spokesman Ian Sams tweeted Tuesday that House Republicans who say Archer’s testimony confirmed Biden was not telling the truth when he said he had no knowledge of his son’s business dealings are “shamelessly lying,” pointing out that Archer “testified POTUS never discussed business dealings.”
“Will anyone hold them accountable for their demonstrable dishonesty?” Sams asked.
Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin likewise said in a statement that Archer noted the calls were “not about Hunter Biden’s business dealings.”
“Mr. Archer explained he was not aware of any actual evidence of corruption, wrongdoing, or impropriety on the part of President Biden,” Raskin said.
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