The legal dispute regarding the release of audio recordings from interviews between former President Joe Biden and his memoir ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, concluded on July 27, 2026. Biden's attorneys filed a motion to drop their case that sought to prevent the release of these recordings, citing that Biden is now a private citizen and not running for public office. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan accepted this voluntary dismissal.
The recordings, which were obtained during special counsel Robert Hur's investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents, include conversations from 2016 and 2017. The Justice Department is now authorized to release these recordings and transcripts to the House Judiciary Committee.
Hur's investigation, which examined Biden's handling of classified materials from his time as vice president and a U.S. senator, did not result in criminal charges due to insufficient evidence of willful misconduct. Hur noted that Biden could be perceived as a sympathetic figure rather than a deliberate violator of classified document laws.
Mike Howell, a plaintiff and former member of the Heritage Foundation, has sought access to these materials for over two years, arguing that public interest necessitates their review. A divided panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit previously ruled that the public interest in disclosure outweighed any remaining privacy concerns. The Justice Department has since reversed its earlier stance and intends to provide redacted versions of the recordings and transcripts.