Updates to previous fact checks on Hunter Biden
Devon Archer, a former business partner of the president’s son, was questioned by congressional investigators this week. The testimony showed how Hunter Biden used his relationship with his father, then the vice president, while Hunter worked to grow his business portfolio. But Archer repeatedly stressed that the younger Biden was not able to influence his father’s actions or policy decisions and that “nothing of material” was ever discussed with Joe Biden.There were a couple of points he made that would be of interest to regular readers of The Fact Checker. Archer confirmed our report from last year that a $3.5 million payment from a Russian billionaire that congressional Republicans claimed was intended for Hunter was in fact for Archer’s separate real estate dealings.
Archer also disagreed with our reporting that Joe Biden only briefly attended a dinner held at Cafe Milano in 2015 with some of his son’s business partners. We had quoted two attendees as saying that Joe Biden spoke only to one person, a Greek Orthodox priest who was a friend of the vice president. Archer recalled that Joe Biden stayed for the entire meal, which concerned a presentation on the World Food Program USA. (Hunter was chair of the fundraising arm of the U.N. humanitarian organization.)
