Judge Rules to Release Biden Interview Audio to Heritage Foundation

A federal judge has denied former President Joe Biden's request to block the release of audio recordings made during the writing of his memoir. The recordings were obtained by the Justice Department as part of an investigation into Biden's handling of classified materials. The Heritage Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act request in April 2024 to access the tapes after the DOJ decided not to pursue charges against Biden. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled in favor of the Heritage Foundation, stating that the public interest in the recordings outweighs Biden's privacy concerns. The judge noted that the tapes would be significantly redacted and do not contain private information about Biden's family. Biden's legal team has filed for an injunction pending appeal. The recordings, which relate to Biden's 2017 memoir 'Promise Me Dad,' are under review by special counsel Robert Hur, who was appointed to investigate allegations of classified information disclosure. Hur's report indicated that while Biden retained and disclosed classified materials, the DOJ did not find sufficient evidence to file criminal charges.