Court lifts injunction, allowing release of Biden tapes

A federal appeals court has dissolved a final injunction, clearing the way for the public release of audio recordings of former President Joe Biden's conversations with his memoir ghostwriter. The roughly 70 hours of recordings, made in 2016 and 2017, were obtained by Special Counsel Robert Hur during his investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents and have been the subject of a protracted legal battle.

The recordings capture Biden working with writer Mark Zwonitzer on his 2017 memoir, "Promise Me, Dad." In his February 2024 report, Hur cited these conversations as evidence that Biden had retained and discussed classified information after leaving the vice presidency. On the tapes, Biden is heard at one point saying, "I just found all the classified stuff downstairs," a comment Hur linked to marked classified documents later found in Biden's Delaware garage. In other segments, Biden cautions Zwonitzer that some material "may be classified" and references meetings with intelligence and defense officials.

Hur ultimately declined to recommend criminal charges against Biden. In his report, he concluded that prosecutors would be unlikely to secure a conviction, partly...