Top House Republicans say Archer testimony gives them roadmap for next steps in Biden investigations

Devon Archer's bombshell testimony Monday has provided congressional investigators with a roadmap for the next steps in their probes Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings – including investigating other family members potentially involved in deals. 

Archer, a former Hunter Biden business associate, testified that Hunter Biden was being pressured in December 2015 to do something about Viktor Shokin, the Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating Burisma Holdings, the Ukraine energy firm for which they both worked, lawmakers said.

In the same month, then-Vice President Joe Biden began applying pressure in a series of moves that got Shokin fired.

Archer also reportedly told the House Oversight Committee, to which he gave the closed-door testimony Monday, that Burisma would not have survived had it not been for the influence of the Biden family. 

Now, Chairman James Comer and his staff are likely to attempt to conduct transcribed interviews with the individuals who were executives at Burisma when Shokin was removed.

In addition, Comer has been looking into payments made to Biden family members from a Chinese energy company, based on subpoenaed financial records.

Following Archer's testimony, Comer said he is going to attempt to interview Biden family members such as James Biden, the president's brother. Comer said James was one of the payment recipients, according to the financial records.

"We haven't even started to talk about his brothers yet," Comer said Monday evening on the "Just the News, Not Noise" TV program.

"Just stay tuned for the brothers. You know, this is a crime family. I mean, it really is. And the crime is selling access to our federal government, to adversaries around the world. And this family has been actively doing that for two decades. And Joe Biden knew every single player that was involved in sending those wires, and I think we learned that today.

Comer also plans to further investigate the sales of Hunter Biden's artwork. 

"Every American should be insulted by Joe Biden thinking that they're just going to believe no special interest or no foreign nationals are the buyers of that artwork," he said. "Of course, people who buy that crappy artwork from the president's son are doing it to receive a benefit."

The Kentucky Republican also said some of the artwork might have been sold to buyers affiliated with China.

"We fear that some of these paintings and some of those high dollar pieces of art went to China as well," he said. "So if they were legitimate art buyers, I think the art gallery owner would have already defended his good name and admitted that."

Comer also plans to follow up on the president's meeting with his son and a Russian oligarch, Elena Baturina, that took place in 2014 at Café Milano, in Washington, D.C. 

"It was also mentioned that Joe Biden met with that Russian oligarch. I don't know that we knew that," he said after Archer's testimony. "And yet, that Russian oligarch was one of the few oligarchs, if not the only oligarchy, that didn't get sanctioned by Joe Biden."

Comer is not the only House committee chairman who wants to widen his panel's probe into Biden family members following Archer's testimony and that of two IRS whistleblowers last month. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said he wants to interview the "folks who were involved" in the Hunter Biden plea deal that a judge rejected last week.

"I want to look at that because we've got these differing stories coming from the White House, regarding the business from the Justice Department, regarding the handling of the Hunter Biden case," he said on the Just the News Not Noise TV program on Tuesday evening.

"And the stories that have been consistent and I think credible. Incredibly credible are the stories, the testimony, from Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler, the two IRS whistleblowers, and their story has been confirmed by an FBI agent as well, who was deposed by the Oversight committee. So we're really going to look into that aspect of it all."

Jordan said Archer's testimony shows "why the plea agreement" for Hunter was initially "put together in the way it was because he kept out the tax years that dealt with Burisma."

Reacting to Archer's testimony on Fox News, IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley said he "can't emphasize enough" how important it is for congressional investigators to continue bringing in witnesses "because each witness that comes in is providing more and more evidence, and it cannot be denied."

Attorney Kash Patel, former Pentagon chief of staff under President Donald Trump, said the timing of Trump's indictment Tuesday on charges related to Jan. 6, 2021, will likely distract the media from covering the Hunter Biden investigation.

He also pointed to Archer's testimony that alleged Biden on at least 20 occasions was involved in phone conversations with Hunter Biden while he was with business associates or clients.

His testimony appeared to conflict with Biden saying during the 2020 election that he never discussed business deals with Hunter.

"Multiple lies from our commander-in-chief, which normally would be enough to impeach a president. But that story will be buried now, because it's going to be Trump indictment, Trump indictment. It's not a coincidence," he said. "These prosecutors timed it up perfectly to fit their political narrative."

Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Scott Perry, House Freedom Caucus chairman, argued that Hunter Biden was promoting and selling access to his father, particularly when it came to his position on the board of Burisma.

"According to Devon Archer, the product and the service was access to the brand," he said. What is the brand? The brand is the access to the federal government, to federal policy, to decisions being made not in favor of the United States, but in favor of those people that were paying the Bidens to make it happen?"

New York Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, who heard Archer's testimony, told reporters Monday that Archer recalled Hunter speaking with his father "every day" on the phone.

"He approximated that about 20 times over the course of his 10-year business relationship that he had with Hunter Biden, which would be about twice a year, that Hunter would put his father on speakerphone with whomever was at dinner," he said. "And there was no indication that he had any idea who was at dinner with them."