Republicans face setback in Biden impeachment probe as key witness refuses to attend hearing

The Republican-led impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden is facing yet another roadblock: A key witness will not attend an open committee hearing.

An attorney for Devon Archer, a former associate of Hunter Biden, cited a “patently unreasonable” amount of time to prepare for the hearing when declining to appear, ABC News reports. Matthew Schwartz, his lawyer, said the committee asked them in a Friday “end-of-day email” if he would appear on Wednesday, per ABC News.

Devon Archer will not appear before a House committee this Wednesday, his lawyer said

Mr Archer facilitated business connections for the president’s son in Ukraine and China. GOP lawmakers have fixated on Mr Acher for several years after they found in 2020 that Mr Biden had met with Mr Acher in the White House in 2014 and played golf with him and Hunter Biden that same year.

Some GOP lawmakers claim this is evidence that Mr Biden was more involved in his son’s dealings than he has revealed. However, the president claimed the White House visit was for a grade school project by Mr Archer’s son, while in 2019 saying the golf game was “not a conflict,” ABC News reports.

Mr Archer previously testified before Congress in August 2023, giving a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee.

Meanwhile, Mr Acher is currently staring down a year-long prison sentence for conspiring to defraud a Native American tribe, a crime unrelated to his work with the president’s son. He is out on bail and expected to report to prison in the coming months after unsuccessfully attempting to appeal his criminal case to the Supreme Court.

Mr Archer’s refusal to appear isn’t the only roadblock the GOP impeachment inquiry is facing.

Last month, former FBI informant