DOJ releases Biden memoir audio recordings after ruling

The U.S. Justice Department has released audio recordings of interviews between former President Joe Biden and his memoir ghostwriter, concluding a yearslong legal battle. The recordings, made in 2016 and 2017, were made public on July -28, 2026, after Biden withdrew his final legal challenges.

The release was facilitated by the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project, which sued for the materials under the Freedom of Information Act. Federal judges ultimately ruled that the public interest in the recordings outweighed Biden's privacy concerns, leading to their disclosure. The Justice Department turned over the recordings as part of Special Counsel Robert Hur's investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents, though no charges were filed.

The audio captures conversations between Biden and ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer as they worked on Biden's memoir, "Promise Me, Dad." In the recordings, Biden discusses foreign policy, personal reflections, and his time as vice president. He is heard referencing notebooks that investigators later determined contained classified information, at one point stating, "They didn't even know I had this," while apparently showing the notes to...