Right-wing media constantly hyped up an appearance by Hunter Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer in front of the GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee as a smoking gun in their bad-faith targeting of the president’s son. But new reporting based on firsthand knowledge of Archer’s testimony shows that their predictions ultimately fell flat. Archer reportedly denied the notion that Hunter Biden included his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, in conversations about dealings with foreign business entities.

Last month, Archer was subpoenaed to testify in a letter from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) as part of the committee’s ongoing investigations into alleged business deals by Hunter Biden. Today, Archer testified in a closed-door interview and, according to CNN, “provided no evidence connecting President Joe Biden to any of his son’s foreign business dealings.” CNN also reported that Archer told the committee Hunter Biden had sold the “illusion” of access to his father’s office. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who also sits on the Oversight Committee, told reporters that “Hunter and his father had ‘casual conversations’ in the presence of Hunter’s business partners that did not involve any business discussions.”

So far, the biggest takeaway from Archer’s testimony has been his recollection that Hunter Biden put his father on the phone in an unofficial capacity roughly 20 times over the span of 10 years. Even this “revelation” hardly touches the months of right-wing conspiracy theories assuring that Archer’s congressional testimony would be the metaphorical nail in the coffin that proved wrongdoing by the Biden family. Here’s a sampling of the claims conservative media tried to make about Archer in the days before he spoke in front of Congress:

• On July 25, the Washington Examiner quoted Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-SC) claim that Archer “knows where all the bodies are buried, and I believe that his testimony will be compelling enough to show that Joe Biden was in the room during much of these discussions during much of these deals.” 
• Right-wing commentator Liz Wheeler tweeted on July 30 that “Joe Biden is terrified of what Devon Archer will testify to Congress, so Biden's DOJ tries to throw Archer in prison before his Congressional testimony. To prevent YOU from hearing the truth about Biden corruption. The more Biden tries to hide, the more we must demand the truth.”
• The Gateway Pundit wrote on July 28 that Archer went into hiding ahead of his congressional testimony due to threats “possibly from circles involved with the Biden Crime Family.” The far-right conspiracy theory outlet also claimed on July 24 that “Archer is going to sing like a canary and tell Congress that Hunter Biden put his dad, then-VP Joe Biden on speakerphone into meetings with his foreign business associates at least two dozen times.”
• TheBlaze predicted on July 24 that “Archer's testimony, should it ultimately happen, may kneecap the White House's denial of Biden's involvement in his son's foreign business dealings.”
• Former White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove claimed on Fox News’ The Story with Martha MacCallum that “the Devon Archer interview is going to be incredibly revealing because as you said, he's at the center of all this.”
• Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld suggested that making regular phone calls to one’s father is strange, saying, “The GOP is gearing up to hear from Hunter's ex-partner Devon Archer. … And a new report in the New York Post revealing that he plans to tell them that Hunter put his father, the then-VP, on the phone with business associates at least two dozen times. Two dozen times, Jesse. Let me do the math for you, that's over 24. … That is amazing. Do you talk to your dad 24 times?” Fox host Jesse Watters responded, “I haven’t talked to him 24 times in a year.” 
• Fox host Sean Hannity cited the New York Post’s Miranda Devine in claiming that “Devon Archer has damning new evidence and information against the big guy himself.” Hannity suggested that Archer’s testimony will inform Congress that “Joe Biden not only knew about all of Hunter’s sketchy foreign business deals but acted as a closer or sweetener to these foreign transactions that benefited the family in terms of millions and millions of dollars.” 
• Fox News host Laura Ingraham suggested that Archer’s testimony would be particularly revealing, saying, “Now, it looks like friend and former business partner Devon Archer is set to testify — finally, after trying to avoid it — before the House Oversight Committee. And he is going to spill the beans on then-Vice President Biden’s contacts with his son's foreign business interests. Now, according to reporting from the New York Post’s Miranda Devine, who — she is going to join us shortly, Archer is going to testify that Hunter put his dad on the phone at least two dozen times with these individuals from various foreign entities.”
• Jesse Watters said that “the dam is finally breaking for the Bidens.” He went on to claim that “testimony from a Biden insider like this will be devastating. Miranda [Devine] reports that when Joe Biden was vice president, Hunter Biden was meeting with the Ukrainian energy CEO, dialed his father, put it on speaker, introduced his father, the vice president of the United States, to his Ukrainian boss and let his dad know these guys, quote, ‘need our support.’”
• While mocking Hunter Biden’s substance abuse issues, Gutfeld questioned whether Archer’s congressional testimony would make the president backpedal on previous statements that he was not involved in Hunter’s business dealings, saying, “But that now makes two people on Hunter's speed dial: his dad and his dealer. Could they be the same? Now, old Joe has repeatedly said he knew nothing of his son's overseas dealings but I wonder if now he'll change his tune.”