Biden Sues DOJ to Block Release of Ghostwriter Audio From Classified Docs Probe

Joe Biden filed suit against the Justice Department on Tuesday, seeking to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts from interviews he gave at his home to a ghostwriter. Special counsel Robert Hur obtained the files during his investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.

Biden's attorneys filed the action in U.S. District Court in Washington after the Justice Department reversed course and announced plans to release the materials to Congress and the Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy organization. The department had shielded them from disclosure under federal public records law for years.

"Every American, including a sitting or former Vice President, has a right to privacy in the personal conversations he has within his own home," Biden's attorneys wrote in the complaint. They argued the planned disclosure would "constitute an unwarranted invasion of President Biden's privacy."

The recordings captured Biden speaking in 2016 and 2017 with Mark Zwonitzer, a writer who collaborated with Biden on two memoirs. Hur reviewed the files during his yearlong investigation into Biden's retention of classified documents from his time as a senator and vice president.

Hur's 345-page report, released in early 2024, found insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against Biden, who was 81 at the time. The report drew sharp attention for its commentary on his age and mental acuity. Transcripts from five hours of Biden's interviews with federal prosecutors were released that same year, showing Biden at times uncertain about dates, details and the paper trail surrounding sensitive documents he had handled.

This is Biden's second legal effort to suppress audio connected to the investigation. The House voted in 2024 to hold then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress after the White House asserted executive privilege over a separate set of recordings — Biden's direct interviews with Hur's prosecutors.

Republicans have contended Biden received preferential treatment from a Justice Department led by his own appointees. Democrats have pointed to Biden's cooperation with investigators as a contrast to the criminal case against former President Donald Trump, who faced charges related to classified documents retained at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach County.

No hearing date in Biden's lawsuit had been set as of Tuesday afternoon.

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