Who is Hunter Biden’s former friend Devon Archer? The two were business partners for a decade, but he’s since testified against Hunter and criticised Joe Biden for giving him a presidential pardon

Jan 30 , 2025

Devon Archer and Hunter Biden. Photos: TNS; Getty Images

Biden Jr and Archer met through food-company heir Christopher Heinz and spent years involved in risky business ventures – then Archer testified that Hunter had used his dad’s vice-presidential clout

As his presidency drew to a close late last year, Joe Biden issued a flurry of White House pardons to protect those within his sphere. Among those who received such a presidential pardon was his son, Hunter Biden, who was facing prison for illegal gun possession and tax evasion.

It was a controversial move by the outgoing president, who was subjected to plenty of criticism and accusations of hypocrisy – and resulted in considerable fallout for the president and Democrats as a whole.

Among those speaking out was Devon Archer. Appearing on Fox News, Hunter’s former business partner and best friend took potshots – indirectly – at developments, saying he hoped a Trump-led justice department would be “an impartial institution again”.

US President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden go shopping on Nantucket island, Massachusetts, last November. Photo: TNS

Archer elaborated on his comments, adding, “I look forward to the Trump administration restoring the Justice Department to an institution that reflects the founding principles of justice and adheres to federal laws akin to its inception on July 1, 1870.” Though he avoided mentioning the Bidens by name, his remarks have been interpreted as indirect censure of the president’s exoneration of his son.

But who is Devon Archer, the former Abercrombie & Fitch model who became part of the Bidens’ inner circle, only to criticise them publicly later?

How did Archer meet Hunter?

Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s former business partner, arrives to testify to the House Oversight Committee in Washington in 2023. Photo: Getty Images

Hunter, 54, met Archer, 49, through his former Yale classmate, Christopher Heinz. Heinz is heir to the multibillion-dollar food company and stepson of former secretary of state – and presidential hopeful – John Kerry.

In his 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things, Hunter described Archer as a “self-made, supermotivated former college lacrosse player with a disarming charm”.

They were business partners in several ventures

In 2009, Archer and Hunter, along with Heinz, founded investment advisory firm Rosemont Seneca Partners. It was the first of several business ventures the risk-taking pair pursued together. In 2014, they joined the board of Burisma Holdings, one of Ukraine’s largest natural gas producers. The company was owned by Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky, who has long been suspected of fraud.