Judge sides with DOJ to release Biden audio for memoir to Heritage Foundation
A federal judge on Friday denied former President Joe Biden’s attempt to block the release of dozens of hours of audio recordings he made while working on his memoir.
TL;DR
- A federal judge denied Joe Biden's attempt to block the release of dozens of hours of audio recordings from his memoir.
- The audio tapes were obtained by the Justice Department during an investigation into concerns of mishandled classified materials.
- The Heritage Foundation filed a FOIA request for the tapes after the DOJ declined to press charges against Biden.
- U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that the public's interest in the recordings outweighs Biden's privacy.
- The recordings relate to Biden's 2017 memoir "Promise Me Dad" and were ghostwritten by Mark Zwonitzer.
- Special counsel Robert Hur investigated whether Biden disclosed classified information to Zwonitzer in the recordings.
- Hur's report found Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials but declined to press charges due to insufficient evidence of intent.
- Biden's lawyers are seeking an injunction pending appeal.