Devon Archer, former close associate of Hunter Biden, is slated to make a final attempt to avoid prison during an appeal hearing in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. With Hunter Biden potentially facing criminal indictment, friends who are familiar with Archer's thoughts have advised him to accept that the Biden family has forsaken him, and no last-minute presidential pardon is forthcoming.

These individuals have urged Archer to leverage his insider knowledge of the Biden family's influence-peddling operations during Joe Biden's vice presidency to secure his freedom.

Archer participated in meetings where Hunter introduced his foreign business associates to his father, either in person or via phone calls. Notably, he was photographed with the then-Vice President in his White House office weeks before joining the board of the controversial Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, alongside Hunter.

The appointment of Judge Richard Sullivan to the three-judge panel in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals is seen as a harsh setback for Archer. Sullivan, a Trump appointee, had previously reinstated Archer's fraud conviction after it was overturned by District Judge Ronnie Abrams, an Obama appointee.

Archer's predicament is perceived by friends as being "caught between two presidents." Interestingly, Archer has a decades-long family connection to former President Donald Trump and maintains a good relationship with him.

Archer's past involvement with Trump goes back to 1991, when he and his family assisted Trump in concealing his affair with Marla Maples, a model-actress who later married Trump and gave birth to their daughter, Tiffany Trump. Maples' manager at the time was Archer's late uncle, Charles Melniker, a legendary CAA executive.

Archer encountered Trump in January at the West Palm Beach golf course clubhouse, where they exchanged pleasantries and recalled their previous meetings. Archer has even ridden in Trump's limousine and referred to the former real estate developer as "Donald."

Archer, a former Abercrombie & Fitch model and the son of a teacher and Vietnam veteran, secured a lacrosse scholarship to Yale. There, he met John Kerry's stepson, Chris Heinz, who introduced him to Hunter Biden. Together, they established the investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners.

Archer now faces a one-year, one-month sentence and a $43 million restitution bill for a bonds fraud he claims he did not know was being committed by his co-accused. Unless Judge Sullivan has a change of heart or is overruled by fellow appeals Judges William J. Nardini, a Trump appointee, and Myrna Pérez, a Biden appointee, Archer, a father of two, may soon be imprisoned.

As for Hunter Biden, who was listed as the vice president for Burnham Financial Group – the company responsible for issuing the fraudulent bonds – he was never considered a suspect in the case and has distanced himself from Archer.