Business Partner of Hunter Biden Receives Sentence Reduction

Man holding signed document with flags in background

President Trump grants clemency to Hunter Biden’s former business associates, raising questions about the political implications behind these controversial pardons.

Key Insights

President Trump commuted Jason Galanis’s 189-month sentence for multiple fraudulent schemes and fully pardoned Devon Archer, both former business associates of Hunter Biden.
Galanis was convicted in 2017 for defrauding the Oglala Sioux tribe and pension fund investors, ordered to forfeit $80 million and pay equal restitution.
Both men testified that Hunter Biden leveraged his father’s political influence for business deals during the Republican impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
Galanis hired Mark Paoletta, a lawyer with Trump connections, to assist with his commutation request.
The White House provided no official rationale for granting clemency to Galanis, while Trump signed the order without a public announcement.

Trump Grants Clemency to Biden Business Associates

President Donald Trump has granted clemency to two of Hunter Biden’s former business partners in a move that adds another chapter to the ongoing political saga surrounding the Biden family’s business dealings. Jason Galanis received a commutation of his 189-month prison sentence for his involvement in multiple fraudulent schemes, while Devon Archer was granted a full pardon after being sentenced for defrauding a Native American tribal entity in 2022. The clemency orders were processed through the Department of Justice, with Trump signing them without fanfare or public announcement, leaving many to speculate about the timing and motivation behind these decisions.

Galanis was serving over 14 years in prison after being convicted in 2017 for his role in a bond scheme that defrauded the Oglala Sioux tribe and pension fund investors. The court had ordered him to forfeit $80 million and pay an equal amount in restitution. Trump’s clemency action effectively absolves Galanis of both the financial penalties and the remainder of his prison sentence. This marks the second associate of Hunter Biden to receive clemency from Trump, following the full pardon of Devon Archer, who had been convicted in the same fraudulent scheme targeting Native Americans.

Testimony Against the Biden Family

Both Galanis and Archer testified during the Republican-led impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, with Galanis providing his testimony from prison. The two men accused Hunter Biden of leveraging his father’s political influence to secure business deals, claims that became central to the Republicans’ impeachment efforts. Galanis specifically claimed that he had involved Hunter Biden in his business ventures specifically to gain political connections, though Hunter Biden has consistently denied any significant involvement in Galanis’s operations.

“the entire value add of Hunter Biden to our business was his family name and his access to his father, Vice President Joe Biden,” Jason Galanis testified.

The testimony from both men became key components of the Republican effort to impeach President Biden, though that effort ultimately did not succeed. Throughout the proceedings, President Biden has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and the House impeachment inquiry failed to find concrete evidence that he had supported his son’s business ventures in any inappropriate way. The clemency grants to individuals who testified against the Biden family have raised eyebrows across the political spectrum about potential political motivations.

Legal Connections and Reactions

Reports indicate that Galanis hired Mark Paoletta, a lawyer with connections to President Trump, to assist with his commutation request. This strategic legal move appears to have paid dividends for Galanis, whose sentence was reduced significantly through Trump’s clemency powers. Meanwhile, Devon Archer’s attorney, Matthew Schwartz, expressed profound gratitude to President Trump for granting the pardon, suggesting that the action corrected what they viewed as a serious miscarriage of justice in Archer’s case.

[Trump’s] “pardon corrects a serious injustice, and finally allows an innocent man to be free of the threat of misguided prosecution. Mr. Archer is deeply appreciative of the President,” said Matthew Schwartz.

Despite the White House offering no official explanation for the clemency decisions, the timing has fueled speculation that these pardons may be connected to the men’s willingness to testify against the Biden family. The clemency grants remove their criminal convictions and financial penalties at a time when conservative critics have continued to question the Biden family’s business practices. Schwartz highlighted the flaws he perceived in the jury system, noting that “sometimes juries get it wrong,” while celebrating the pardon as a vindication for his client who had maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings.