A federal magistrate ruled on Wednesday that Devon Archer, the former business partner of first son Hunter Biden, who was embroiled in the scandal, will be resentenced. 

Archer had previously been sentenced to one year in prison for defrauding a Native American tribe, as The New York Post reported.

In February, 49-year-old Archer petitioned Manhattan federal Judge Ronnie Abrams to vacate his 2022 prison sentence in the case on the grounds of his cooperation in congressional investigations pertaining to President Biden's alleged involvement in his family's foreign business dealings and a sentencing guidelines calculation error overlooked by his defense counsel.

“[T]he Court grants Archer’s petition for habeas relief, vacates his sentence, and sets this matter for resentencing,” Abrams wrote in her nine-page opinion.

Reason for Dismissal

Archer was "prejudiced by his counsel's deficient representation," according to her, on the grounds that his counsel's failure to object to the incorrect sentencing guidelines, which prosecutors conceded missed the mark, satisfied the legal requirement for "ineffective assistance of counsel."

In June 2018, a jury found Archer and two additional executives of Burnham Financial Group guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud.

Prosecutors assert that Archer and his co-defendants purchased over $60 million worth of bonds from the Oglala Sioux with the intention of establishing a financial services mega-company, rather than allocating the funds towards an annuity.

Hunter Biden, who earned a maximum of $200,000 as vice chairman of Burnham, was not implicated in the conspiracy.

The Reversal

In November 2018, Abrams reversed Archer's conviction on the grounds that insufficient evidence existed. In doing so, he maintained the convictions of his two co-defendants.

Archer's conviction was reaffirmed by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020, and in January, the Supreme Court declined to consider his appeal in the aforementioned case.

In July of last year, Archer testified before the House Oversight Committee, in which he implicated President Biden, 81, in a number of his son's international relationships.

Archer furnished legislators with evidence including his knowledge that the elder Biden participated in approximately twenty of Hunter's international business meetings via speakerphone.

Archer's Defense

Matthew Schwartz, Archer's attorney, told Abrams that his “extensive cooperation with federal investigators” in the Biden investigation was “substantial civic duties” and should be considered when sentencing.

“The Court should consider, in any resentencing, Mr. Archer’s changed circumstances and continued and good-faith participation with various governmental investigations, as well as his continued commitment to charitable and educational causes, and of course his flawless record on pretrial release over the course of nearly eight years,” Schwartz wrote.

According to Abrams' request, proposed dates for Archer's resentencing hearing must be submitted by May 22 at the latest, by his attorney and federal prosecutors.