A federal appeals court on Monday night denied former President Joe Biden’s bid to keep the Justice Department from giving a conservative think tank redacted transcripts and audio recordings of conversations he had with his biographer roughly a decade ago.
In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Biden’s attempt to stop the Heritage Foundation from getting the material.
The majority opinion stated: “We conclude that Biden has not shown a likelihood that the requested materials must be withheld from disclosure.”
However, the court stayed its opinion until August 3 to allow time for further appeals.
The Recordings
The recordings date back to 2016 and 2017, when Biden sat down with his biographer, Mark Zwonitzer, for his memoir, “Promise Me, Dad.” The Heritage Foundation sought the material following an investigation by former special counsel Robert Hur into Biden’s handling of sensitive government records after his vice presidency.
Hur’s 2024 report referenced the recordings, writing they showed Biden’s “diminished faculties and faulty memory.” He described the conversations as “painfully slow, with Mr. Biden struggling to remember events and straining at times to read and relay his own notebook entries.”
The Legal Fight
The Heritage Foundation filed a public records request for material Hur relied on to write specific portions of his report. The Justice Department initially withheld the audio tapes and most transcripts, citing FOIA exemptions. After Trump returned to the White House, the department said it would provide the material to Congress and the Heritage Foundation.
Biden moved to intervene in the lawsuit the Heritage Foundation filed in 2024. Last month, a federal judge rejected Biden’s request to block disclosure. The judge later agreed to stop the release for three weeks to give the D.C. Circuit time to decide.
The Arguments
Biden’s lawyers argued that disseminating his conversations with Zwonitzer would be harmful, likening their disclosure to the public release of diary entries or private text messages.
“The private conversations at issue were never intended to be shared with a wider audience,” they argued. They also said there is no immediate need for the Heritage Foundation to access the material, noting the FOIA action has been pending for nearly two and a half years.
But the Justice Department said the public has an interest in seeing the information Hur relied on. “Releasing the materials will allow the public to assess the persuasiveness of Hur’s determinations,” department lawyers told the court.
What Happens Next
The court’s decision is on hold until August 3, giving Biden time to appeal further. The Heritage Foundation’s request remains pending. “Promise Me, Dad” is expected to be published late this year.
The Bottom Line
A federal appeals court has denied former President Joe Biden’s bid to block the release of biographer tapes to the Heritage Foundation. The 2-1 ruling is on hold until August 3 to allow for further appeals. The tapes, from 2016 and 2017, were cited in special counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified records. Biden’s lawyers argued the tapes are private, while the Justice Department said the public has a right to see them.
