Executive Grant of Clemency for Devon Archer
TLDR
This executive order grants a full presidential pardon to Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s former business partner who was convicted of defrauding the Oglala Sioux tribe of $60 million. The pardon nullifies Archer’s one-year prison sentence and $43 million restitution obligation. Archer previously testified against Hunter Biden in Congress, and the Trump administration has characterized him as a victim of a weaponized justice system.
President Trump has issued a full and unconditional pardon to Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden who was convicted of fraud in 2018. This executive action completely nullifies Archer’s conviction, prison sentence of one year and one day, and his obligation to pay approximately $43 million in restitution.
Devon Archer was convicted by a Manhattan jury in 2018 for defrauding the Oglala Sioux community of $60 million. He was sentenced in 2022 but had been out on bail while appealing his conviction. The Supreme Court rejected his final appeal in 2024.
The case originated from an indictment filed on March 26, 2018, charging Archer with conspiracy to commit securities fraud (violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371) and securities fraud (violation of 15 U.S.C §§ 78j(b) and 78ff).
Archer gained favor with conservatives after testifying before Congress in 2023 about Hunter Biden’s business dealings. During his testimony, he claimed that the Bidens exploited “soft power” through business arrangements that allowed Hunter Biden to accumulate significant wealth.
Trump and his administration have characterized Archer as a victim of a weaponized legal system. White House staff secretary Will Scharf argued that the “tone and tenor” of Archer’s prosecution “changed dramatically” after he served as a witness against Biden. President Trump himself stated that Archer “was treated very unfairly” and considered him “a victim of a crime”.
This pardon follows other actions by the Trump administration related to the Biden investigations, including the Treasury Department’s promotion of two IRS whistleblowers who testified against Biden to senior advisor positions.
The pardon completely relieves Archer of his conviction and financial obligations. It represents a significant use of presidential clemency power that rewards someone who provided testimony damaging to the Biden family. This action comes after former President Biden pardoned his son Hunter in the final month of his presidency, which Biden justified as protection against politically motivated persecution from the incoming Trump administration.
Archer expressed gratitude to Trump prior to receiving the pardon, claiming he was a “victim of a complex legal campaign aimed at destroying and silencing” him.
March 26, 2025
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, GREETING:
BE IT KNOWN, THAT THIS DAY, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PURSUANT TO MY POWERS UNDER ARTICLE II, SECTION 2, CLAUSE 1, OF THE CONSTITUTION, HAVE GRANTED UNTO THE INDIVIDUAL NAMED BELOW
A FULL AND UNCONDITIONAL PARDON
For those offenses against the United States individually enumerated and set before me for my consideration and remission of any and all fines, penalties, forfeitures, and restitution ordered by the court:
United States v. Archer, l:16-cr-371 DEVON ARCHER
I HEREBY DESIGNATE, direct, and empower the Attorney General, as my representative, to immediately sign the grant of clemency to the person named herein. The Attorney General shall declare that her action is the act of the President, being performed at my direction.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto signed my name and caused the seal of the Department of Justice to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington in the District of Columbia this 25th day of March in the year of our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-five and of the Independence of the United States the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth.