Supreme Court rejects an appeal from a former business partner of Hunter Biden

Friday, January 19, 2024, Vol. 48, No. 3

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a former business partner of presidential son Hunter Biden who was seeking to overturn his criminal conviction for securities fraud.

As is typical, the justices did not comment in leaving in place a federal appeals court ruling that reinstated the fraud conviction of Devon Archer. A lower court judge had earlier set aside a jury verdict that found Archer guilty of fraud and ordered a new trial.

It was the second time the Supreme Court denied Archer's appeal.

Hunter Biden was not involved in the effort to defraud the Oglala Sioux Indian tribe in a scheme that involved the sale of bonds, but participants in the fraud invoked his name to enhance their credentials, according to court records.

Archer was convicted in 2018. His conviction was overturned later that year before the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020.

Biden and Archer had been business partners, and both served on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.