OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Devon Archer, a business associate of first son Hunter Biden, has been sentenced to prison for fraud, but the majority of leading news networks have ignored the story.
“While Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, was not involved in the crime that produced a one-year prison sentence for Archer, one must remember how corporate media covered the arrests of former President Donald Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort and campaign adviser Robert Stone for crimes not involving Trump,” The Daily Wire’s Ashe Schow noted in a Tuesday report.
In a Monday press release, the Justice Department noted that Archer was sentenced “for defrauding a Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars in connection with the issuance of bonds by the tribal entity and the subsequent sale of those bonds through fraudulent and deceptive means.”
“Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s ex-business partner/best friend, was just sentenced in NY District Court to 1 year, 1 day in jail plus 1 year parole and $15m forfeiture for defrauding a Native American tribe. Only a presidential pardon will save him,” New York Post columnist and author Miranda Devine noted on Twitter.
Judge Ronnie Abrams said the crime was too serious for the non custodial sentence Archer’s lawyer requested. But the sentence was less than the 30 mths requested by prosecutors, parity with co-defendant Bevan Cooney. Judge Abrams cited COVID as a reason for the lesser sentence
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) February 28, 2022
“Judge Ronnie Abrams said the crime was too serious for the non custodial sentence Archer’s lawyer requested. But the sentence was less than the 30 mths requested by prosecutors, parity with co-defendant Bevan Cooney. Judge Abrams cited COVID as a reason for the lesser sentence,” she added.
Here's Joe Biden with Devon Archer — his golf buddy and Hunter's former business partner — who was just sentenced to jail for defrauding a Native American tribe. pic.twitter.com/m9FaQIPrM3
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 28, 2022
Hunter Biden's best friend sentenced to prison for role in fraud scheme https://t.co/b23u1R1wBB pic.twitter.com/THy2Rgw1Vs
— New York Post (@nypost) February 28, 2022
Hunter Biden Business Associate Devon Archer Sentenced For Fraud, Networks Ignore https://t.co/gJTQEvH7RG pic.twitter.com/zGV2VfN2Vc
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) March 1, 2022
In a Post column, Divine continued:
It was the day Archer has been trying to avoid for six years, since he first was charged over the $60 million fraud in 2016. Judge Abrams set aside his 2018 jury conviction, but her decision was reversed on appeal and Archer failed to have his conviction overturned in the Supreme Court last year.
So Monday was the end of the legal line for Hunter’s charismatic Yale chum and former fellow board member of the corrupt Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
Her sentence was less than half the 30 months requested by prosecutors, who wanted parity with his co-defendant Bevan Cooney.
In a statement to the court, Archer claimed he felt “deep remorse for the victims of the crime” and complained about “corrupt actors in the world and vicious media.”
He also said that at the time of the crime, he was “doing too many things at once . . . all the business deals I was involved with and the overseas activities. I’ve learned the lesson the hardest way possible.”
Hunter Biden was not implicated in Archer’s fraud scheme. But, in a 2019 text message, Hunter wrote that Archer is “part of a great family — not a sideshow, not deserted by them even in your darkest moments.”
“Whether that vow includes a pardon from his father will be seen in the next 60 days before Archer has to surrender to authorities,” Devine noted further.
She added: “There is another way he could avoid jail — if he were to cooperate with prosecutors investigating Hunter’s business dealings, they could recommend he serve no time.”
However, only a presidential pardon would alleviate his multi-million dollar debt with the government.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly denied any involvement with his son’s controversial business dealings in Ukraine and in China.
“I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings,” he said in October 2019. “I know Trump deserves to be investigated. He is violating every basic norm of a president. You should be asking him why is he on the phone with a foreign leader, trying to intimidate a foreign leader. You should be looking at Trump.”
As Newsbusters reported, ABC, CBS, and NBC all ignored Archer’s sentencing.
“This is not the first time the networks looked the other way when one of Hunter Biden’s friends became engulfed in legal problems. Back in January, all three evening newscasts ignored Hunted Biden’s close friend Karim Massimov being charged with treason in Kazakhstan during violent protests caused by a spike in gas prices in the region,” Newsbusters noted. “This likely wouldn’t be the response if the story were about a business partner of one of former President Trump’s adult children.”
