Former President Joe Biden has filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department seeking to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts from interviews he conducted with his biographer. According to CBS News, the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, aims to prevent the DOJ from releasing about 70 hours of audio files and transcripts to the House Judiciary Committee and the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Key Takeaways
Former President Joe Biden has filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts from interviews he conducted with a biographer for his memoir 'Promise Me, Dad.' The files are part of a special counsel investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents. According to CBS News, the lawsuit seeks to prevent the DOJ from releasing about 70 hours of audio files and transcripts to the House Judiciary Committee and the Heritage Foundation.
- Former President Joe Biden sues DOJ over release of interview recordings
- Lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- Recordings were part of interviews with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer for memoir 'Promise Me, Dad'
- Files are related to a special counsel investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents
The interviews were conducted with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer for Biden's 2017 memoir 'Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.' The recordings are part of a special counsel investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents. According to Reuters, the DOJ plans to release the materials on June 15.
The lawsuit argues that the Department of Justice has reversed its position on releasing these files under the Trump administration without formal explanation. It claims that the committee’s request is pretextual and invalid, meant only to skirt federal law barring their release. According to HuffPost, Biden's attorneys seek a court declaration that the committee’s request is invalid and a permanent bar on the release of the records.
The investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents began after classified documents were found at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and his former private office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C. In February 2024, special counsel Robert Hur released a report determining that although Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials, there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against him.
The lawsuit comes after three separate Freedom of Information Act lawsuits were previously filed attempting to unseal the recordings. In late 2024, Biden asserted executive privilege over the recordings after House Republicans attempted to access them. According to CBS News, the Justice Department has not yet responded to requests for comment on the complaint.
The investigation into Mr. Biden overlapped with a separate classified documents investigation into President Trump that began when the Justice Department searched Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022. According to CBS News, Mr. Trump was subsequently federally charged with several dozen counts accusing him of mishandling classified documents, but those charges were dismissed in July 2024 when a judge determined that the special counsel in that case, Jack Smith, had been unlawfully appointed.
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