An appeals court temporarily blocked the Justice Department from releasing audio recordings of former President Joe Biden's interviews with his ghostwriter. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a 10-day administrative pause while it reviews Biden's emergency appeal regarding the recordings, which are sought by the Heritage Foundation and its former Oversight Project director, Mike Howell.
The three-judge panel, which includes Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Judge Gregory Katsas, and Judge Florence Pan, ordered that the recordings not be released until 11:59 p.m. on July 20. This injunction is intended to preserve the current situation while the court considers Biden's request for a longer injunction pending appeal and does not indicate a ruling on the merits of the case.
This order halts a previous ruling from U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who had rejected Biden's attempt to block the disclosure of approximately 70 hours of audio recordings obtained during former special counsel Robert Hur's investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.
Howell stated that they are monitoring the situation and aim to expedite the release of the tapes to the public. The recordings are from Biden's interviews with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer while they worked on Biden's 2017 memoir, "Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose." The DOJ obtained the recordings during the investigation into whether Biden improperly retained and disclosed classified information.
The Heritage Foundation initially requested the recordings through a Freedom of Information Act request in April 2024. Although the Biden administration declined to release them, the Trump administration indicated it would reverse that decision, prompting Biden to sue the Justice Department.
Biden's lawsuit argued that the recordings contained private conversations and that he retained a privacy interest in them, despite their use in a federal investigation. Judge Friedrich dismissed this argument, stating that the recordings had been heavily redacted and did not contain private information about Biden's family.
The Heritage Foundation contends that the recordings are of significant public interest as they could provide insight into Hur's decision not to prosecute Biden. Hur's February 2024 report concluded that Biden had willfully retained and disclosed classified information but ultimately did not recommend criminal charges, citing challenges in proving intent beyond a reasonable doubt.
The D.C. Circuit is expected to make a decision regarding Biden's request for a longer injunction before July 20.