Joe Biden Sues DOJ To Block Release of Mark Zwonitzer Interview Recordings

Former President Joe Biden sued the Justice Department to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts from interviews he gave to ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer for his 2017 memoir "Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose."

“Biden sues DOJ to block release of audio recordings tied to special counsel probe The recordings were from interviews Biden gave to a ghostwriter for his memoir”

ABC News

The recordings and transcripts were obtained by Special Counsel Robert Hur during a probe into Biden’s handling of classified materials after his time as vice president, and Hur ended the investigation in February 2024 without recommending criminal charges.

ABC News

Biden’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., says the DOJ has indicated it will release the audio recordings and transcripts to the Heritage Foundation and the House Judiciary Committee on June 15 unless a court order blocks the release.

The dispute centers on whether the materials are exempt from disclosure, with Biden’s attorneys arguing the conversations are protected by the Privacy Act and that the DOJ is acting unlawfully in seeking an avenue to release the records.

In response, the Justice Department accused the prior administration of trying "to hide audio recordings that clearly demonstrate a significant decline" in Biden’s mental state.

Biden’s lawyers argued that the conversations are private information and that "President Biden—like every American—has a right to privacy in personal conversations he had within his own home," according to the lawsuit described by ABC News.

ABC News also reported that Biden’s attorneys said the current DOJ reversed its position without any formal explanation beginning in February, after DOJ and career attorneys had taken the position that release would be a clear departure from department norms.

BBC

The BBC said the Justice Department has accused the prior administration of trying "to hide audio recordings that clearly demonstrate a significant decline" in Biden’s mental state, while House Republicans and the Heritage Foundation requested the memoir interview records in 2024.

In the court fight, the Heritage Foundation sought access under a FOIA request tied to Hur’s investigation, and the Justice Department indicated it would release the materials by June 15.

The Washington Post described the lawsuit as seeking to block the Trump administration from releasing recordings and transcripts of Biden’s private interviews with the ghostwriter while the Justice Department planned to provide the material to a congressional committee and a conservative think tank on June 15, according to the lawsuit.

The Justice Department’s planned June 15 release is framed by Biden’s team as a disclosure that would violate federal privacy laws and use a sham request from Congress to circumvent public records rules, according to The Washington Post.

“Former President Joe Biden has filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department seeking to block the release of files related to interviews he conducted with a biographer that later became a central part of a special counsel investigation into his”

CBS News

The Hill reported that Biden’s lawyers filed the challenge in federal court in Washington, D.C., ahead of the DOJ’s upcoming release to the House Judiciary Committee and the Heritage Foundation on June 15.

In that filing, Biden’s lawyers argued the release would cause harm "in the form of costs to respond to the disclosure and other financial losses," as The Hill reported.

The Hill also quoted a DOJ spokesperson accusing Biden’s department under Merrick Garland of trying "to hide audio recordings that clearly demonstrate a significant decline in his cognitive abilities as far back as 2016," and said the DOJ would fight to ensure the American people can hear the recordings.

NBC News’ coverage placed the lawsuit in the broader context of the Justice Department’s handling of Biden-related investigations, while the dispute itself turns on whether the audio files and transcripts will be released to Congress and the Heritage Foundation on June 15.