President Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon on Tuesday for Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden whose congressional testimony two years ago helped fuel House Republicans’ investigation into the Biden family.
Mr. Archer had been convicted in a fraud case, and was sentenced in 2022 to a year and a day in prison.
The pardon erases the conviction and also tens of millions of dollars in forfeitures and restitution that Mr. Archer had been ordered to pay. Mr. Archer was pardoned before he served any of his prison sentence.
Mr. Archer earned fans on the right — including in Mr. Trump’s circle — after he testified in a congressional investigation in 2023 into Hunter Biden’s business dealings. He accused the Bidens of abusing “soft power” through business deals in which then-President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son Hunter made millions of dollars. Supporters of Mr. Archer had argued that he was treated more harshly by prosecutors after he started cooperating with investigations into the Bidens.
Before signing the pardon, Mr. Trump on Tuesday said that Mr. Archer “was treated very unfairly” and “was a victim of a crime, as far as I’m concerned, so we’re going to undo that.”
The pardon is the latest example of Mr. Trump’s aggressive use of his clemency power to reward allies or highlight his own grievances about what he sees as the political weaponization of the justice system.