Biden spoke with son's business associates numerous times, former partner tells lawmakers

Rep. Daniel Goldman said Devon Archer told lawmakers that Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone with business partners about 20 times, but they didn't talk business.

A former business partner of Hunter Biden testified that the president's son used the Biden "brand" to his advantage while working for Ukrainian energy company Burisma, according to lawmakers who were present during Monday's closed-door questioning.

Devon Archer, 49, answered questions for about four hours during a transcribed interview before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, at one point telling members that Biden put his father on speakerphone during business meetings about 20 times, but not to talk to business, Rep. Daniel Goldman said.

“The witness indicated that Hunter spoke to his father every day, and approximately 20 times over the course of 10-year relationship, Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people, and they never once spoke about any business dealings,” Goldman, D-N.Y., told reporters after the closed-door meeting.

“As he described it, it was all casual conversation, niceties, the weather, what’s going on. There wasn’t a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had,” Goldman added.

The committee’s chair, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said Archer testified that Joe Biden was put on the phone to sell “the brand.”