The Bidens’ ex-business partner Devon Archer told lawmakers Monday that President Biden’s at least 20 phone calls into business meetings were central to son Hunter Biden’s strategy for making deals.
“It indicated power and indicated substance,” Archer told lawmakers, according to Rep. Andy Biggs, Arizona Republican, who took part in the closed-door interview with Archer.
Archer, who was convicted of securities fraud in an unrelated matter and is facing a year-long prison sentence, also said that Mr. Biden phoned into his son’s business deals on at least 20 occasions.
The calls dated back to Mr. Biden’s time as vice president and were aimed at influencing and persuading the foreign nationals on the other end of the line to go into business with his son.
One of those deals landed both Hunter Biden and Archer lucrative jobs serving on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky wanted then-Vice President Biden to help oust Ukraine prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating the company and hobbling its efforts to enter the U.S. energy market.
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The elder Mr. Biden, in a 2018 speech, said he successfully forced out Mr. Shokin after threatening to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees from Ukraine.
“Burisma would have gone out of business sooner if the Biden brand had not been invoked,” Archer said, according to notes taken by Mr. Biggs in the meeting.
Archer added, “People would be intimidated to legally mess with Burisma. Because of the Biden family brand.”
The “brand,” Archer said, is Joe Biden.
Rep. Dan Goldman, New York Democrat, was also in the deposition and told reporters Archer said the president merely called into the meetings to say hello.
“There is not a shred of a single conflict of interest of President Biden ever doing anything in connection or in relations to undermine his business ventures,” Mr. Goldman said.
