Published on March 26, 2025
This presidential action, dated March 25, 2025, documents Donald Trump's issuance of a full and unconditional pardon to Devon Archer, who was convicted in case 1:16-cr-371. The pardon, issued under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution, removes all penalties, fines, forfeitures, and restitution requirements previously ordered by the court.
The timing and recipient of this pardon warrant scrutiny, as Devon Archer was a former business associate of Hunter Biden and served on the board of Burisma Holdings alongside him. By pardoning Archer, Trump could potentially be attempting to influence future testimony or gain leverage in ongoing political disputes, particularly given the proximity to the 2024 election cycle and various investigations involving both Trump and the Biden family.
While presented as a straightforward exercise of presidential pardoning power, this action appears to have significant political implications beyond its stated purpose. The unconditional nature of the pardon, combined with the timing and the recipient's connections to the Biden family, suggests this may be part of a broader political strategy rather than a simple act of clemency.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, GREETING: BE IT KNOWN, THAT THIS DAY, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PURSUANT TO MY POWERS UNDER ARTICLE II, SECTION 2, CLAUSE 1, OF THE CONSTITUTION, HAVE GRANTED UNTO THE INDIVIDUAL NAMED BELOW A FULL AND UNCONDITIONAL PARDON For those offenses against the United States individually enumerated and set before me for my consideration and remission of any and all fines, penalties, forfeitures, and restitution ordered by the court: United States v. Archer, l:16-cr-371DEVON ARCHER I HEREBY DESIGNATE, direct, and empower the Attorney General, as my representative, to immediately sign the grant of clemency to the person named herein. The Attorney General shall declare that her action is the act of the President, being performed at my direction. IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto signed my name and caused the seal of the Department of Justice to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington in the District of Columbia this 25th day of March in the year of our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-five and of the Independence of the United States the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth. DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT