Devon Archer, the former business partner of Hunter Biden and fellow board member of Burisma Holdings, met with then-Secretary of State John Kerry just weeks before the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma was fired in 2016.
The meeting, which took place on March 2, 2016, at the State Department in Washington, D.C., has raised questions about the potential influence of political figures on the Ukrainian investigation.
According to a redacted State Department email, Archer’s visit was arranged for him to meet with “S,” which subsequent investigations have confirmed to be Secretary Kerry.
The nature of their discussion remains unclear, and there is no definitive evidence that Burisma or any related matters were discussed during the meeting.
However, the timing of the meeting, occurring less than four weeks before the dismissal of Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, has fueled speculation.
At the time of the meeting, both Devon Archer and Hunter Biden had been serving on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, for approximately two years.
Notably, then-Vice President Joe Biden had recently returned from a trip to Ukraine during which he warned that the U.S. would withhold $1 billion in aid unless Ukrainian officials removed Shokin from his position.
Biden’s stance was rooted in his belief that Shokin was not adequately addressing corruption within the country.
The released State Department email has prompted further investigation into the matter. Senators Grassley and Johnson expressed concerns about the meeting back in 2019 and requested additional records from the encounter, as well as records of other meetings involving Hunter Biden, such as his 2015 meeting with Antony Blinken.
In a recent interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, Viktor Shokin, the fired Ukrainian prosecutor, reiterated his claim that he was ousted from his position at the insistence of then-Vice President Joe Biden due to his investigation into Burisma.
Shokin alleged that had he continued his inquiry, evidence of corrupt activities involving Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, and others would have been uncovered.
Shokin’s narrative is complemented by an email sent by Burisma executive Vadym Pozharsky in November 2015, which proposed a strategy to enlist the help of Blue Star Strategies, a lobbying firm, to counter allegations of corruption against Burisma’s owner, Mykola Zlochevsky.
The email discussed arranging meetings between influential U.S. policy-makers and Ukrainian officials to support Zlochevsky’s cause and prevent any legal actions against him in Ukraine.
While the exact details of the Archer-Kerry meeting and its potential implications on the Ukrainian investigation remain subject to speculation, it serves as a reminder of the intricate intersections between politics, business, and international relations. As further information emerges, it is likely that discussions surrounding this meeting will continue to shape public discourse on matters of accountability and transparency.
