Hunter Biden's former business partner and fellow Burisma board member, Devon Archer, had a meeting with then-Secretary of State John Kerry just weeks before the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma was fired in 2016, according to a State Department email obtained by Fox News Digital.
The email, dated March 2, 2016, states, "Devon Archer coming to see S today at 3:00pm - need someone to meet/greet him at C Street." It is confirmed that "S" refers to Kerry. However, the content of the meeting remains unclear.
At the time of the meeting, Archer and Hunter Biden had been serving on the board of Burisma for about two years. Vice President Joe Biden had recently visited Ukraine and threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid if Ukrainian officials did not fire the prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma. Shokin claims that he was fired at Biden's insistence because of his investigation into the company. He alleges that if he had continued overseeing the investigation, evidence of corrupt activities involving Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, and others would have been uncovered.
The White House, however, disputes Shokin's claims and points to indications that he was fired because he had been too soft on corruption. The White House also states that Shokin's office was not investigating Burisma or Hunter Biden at the time of his ouster in March 2016, citing reports from the Washington Post, Associated Press, and New York Times published in 2019.
During a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee in July, Archer revealed that Burisma executives had turned to Hunter Biden for help amid pressure from Shokin's office and other entities investigating the company. He stated that in December 2015, just days before Vice President Biden's trip to Ukraine, Hunter and Burisma executives contacted the Obama administration to seek assistance in getting Shokin fired.
In an email from Burisma executive Vadym Pozharsky to Hunter Biden, Archer, and another associate, Pozharsky outlined the purpose of their agreement with lobbying firm Blue Star Strategies. The email stated that the agreement aimed to shut down any cases or pursuits against Burisma's owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, in Ukraine. It also mentioned organizing a visit of influential U.S. policy-makers to Ukraine to convey a positive message of support for Zlochevsky.
This meeting between Archer and Kerry is not the first instance of a Burisma board member meeting with a top State Department official during a pressure campaign to protect the company. In May 2015, Hunter Biden and then-Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken were exchanging emails about setting up a meeting at the State Department. They eventually met in July 2015.
Devon Archer, a longtime friend and business partner of the Biden family, had previously worked as an adviser to Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign. In 2013, Archer exchanged emails with Kerry's then-chief of staff at the State Department, David Wade, organizing a call between Kerry and the Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan.
Archer co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners with Hunter Biden and Christopher Heinz, Kerry's stepson and Archer's Yale roommate, in 2009. In a 2012 email chain, Archer listed Kerry as one of his top references for Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners (RSTP). However, it is unclear if Kerry ever vouched for RSTP or its clients.
It is important to note that the State Department and Archer's lawyer did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
This latest revelation adds to the ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden's business dealings and raises questions about the extent of his and his associates' involvement with high-ranking officials in the U.S. government. The meeting between Archer and Kerry, along with the email exchanges between Hunter Biden and Blinken, suggest a level of access and influence that has drawn scrutiny and criticism.
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