Biden Drops Legal Fight Over Release of Tapes to Conservative Group
In a significant development, former President Joe Biden has decided against continuing his legal battle to prevent the release of transcripts and recordings of his conversations with a ghostwriter. This decision marks the end of a lengthy dispute with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that sought to make the documents public.
The tapes in question originate from 2017, a period when Biden had just concluded his vice-presidential term. These recordings were part of interviews conducted for his memoir, Promise Me, Dad. Upon discovering classified documents at his Wilmington, Delaware, residence in 2022, Biden notified the Justice Department, prompting an investigation that included these tapes.
In 2024, Robert Hur, a special prosecutor assigned by the Justice Department, determined that while Biden did possess classified documents at his home, there was no basis for criminal charges. The report suggested that Biden’s extensive experience with classified documents as Vice President made the discovery “an unremarkable and forgettable event.”
Despite this conclusion, the report generated controversy by referring to Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” It also mentioned that his conversations with the ghostwriter were “painfully slow,” with Biden struggling to recall events.
Conservative activists, eager to access the tapes, argue they will illuminate Biden’s mental state prior to his presidency. “What you’re going to hear on the tapes … is the state of Joe Biden years before he ran for president, when a special prosecutor said he has memory issues,” stated Jeffrey Clark, a Trump ally and vice president for litigation at the Oversight Project.
These groups intend to release the full content of the tapes and transcripts publicly. Clark explained, “We’ll put out a link. It’s not more complicated than that.”
At the time of the special prosecutor’s findings, Biden was still a contender in the 2024 election. He criticized the report, describing it as “not only misleading, but also plain wrong.” A source familiar with the tapes characterized them as “painfully boring” since they mainly consist of Biden reviewing documents.
Biden eventually withdrew from the 2024 presidential race following a poorly received debate performance. The legal dispute over the tapes began when conservative groups filed a lawsuit in April 2024. The Justice Department initially opposed releasing the tapes, likening it to sharing “entries in a personal diary.” However, they reversed their stance in May, agreeing to disclose the materials.
Biden’s legal team argued that his privacy interests should prevail, but two lower courts disagreed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in particular, refused to grant an injunction blocking the tapes’ release. The court’s decision was not strictly partisan, with judges appointed by both Obama and Trump ruling against Biden.
Ultimately, with the likelihood of the tapes’ release high, Biden opted to surrender them to the Heritage Foundation. A source close to Biden, speaking anonymously, criticized the Justice Department’s decision, suggesting it sets a “dangerous” precedent for governmental power over individuals.
The Justice Department has not responded to requests for comment. Biden’s choice to end the legal fight contrasts sharply with former President Trump’s aggressive litigation tactics. As Biden withdraws from the tapes case, Trump continues to seek Supreme Court intervention in a separate legal matter.
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