Newly released audio recordings and transcripts from Joe Biden's interviews with his memoir ghostwriter have surfaced, appearing to contain discussions of sensitive foreign policy matters and what may be classified information. The materials were disclosed by the Oversight Project, an organization affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, after Biden lost a legal battle to keep the conversations private.
The released materials span approximately three hours of audio and 117 pages of transcripts, with significant portions redacted. The interviews took place between 2016 and 2017, conducted by ghostwriter Mark Lewis Zwonitzer during Biden's final year as vice president and shortly after he left office.
In one 2016 session, Biden discussed sensitive foreign policy matters, stating, "They didn't even know I had this." In a 2017 interview, he appeared to reference retained classified materials, saying, "I just found all the classified stuff downstairs. I wrote the President a handwritten 40-page memorandum arguing against deploying additional troops to Iraq, I mean, to Afghanistan on the grounds that it wouldn't matter, that the day we left would be like the day before we arrived."
The Oversight Project pursued the tapes after Special Counsel Robert Hur declined in 2024 to charge Biden over his handling of classified information. Hur had obtained the materials during his inquiry and noted in his decision that Biden had cooperated and stated he did not intentionally mishandle classified material. Hur's report cited what he described as Biden's "poor memory" When explaining his prosecutorial decision, a characterization that became central to public discussion of Biden's age and fitness.
The recordings show Biden occasionally unable to recall specific dates and details, though he also demonstrated knowledge of various meetings and conversations. The Oversight Project's Vice President of Litigation Jeff Clark stated, "The tapes have always belonged to the American People, the Oversight Project just delivered them to their rightful owner."
A Biden spokesman characterized the release as politically motivated, saying the conversations "were provided to the Department of Justice on the express condition they stay that way" And calling the disclosure "the latest example of this Administration weaponizing the DOJ for political retribution."
Biden initially sued to prevent release of the material but withdrew his case after an appeals court panel rejected his request to keep them confidential. A divided three-judge panel found a "substantial" Public interest in disclosure.