Joe Biden has sued the Department of Justice (DOJ). The lawsuit aims to stop the release of private audio recordings. Filed on Tuesday in Washington’s federal court, the case is about audio files and transcripts of interviews Biden gave to a ghostwriter — material that was collected during a special counsel investigation into his handling of classified documents.
DOJ faces lawsuit from Joe Biden over audio recordings
Former President Joe Biden’s lawyers argue that releasing the recordings would violate his right to privacy. The DOJ had previously shielded the audio files from disclosure under public records law, but now plans to hand them over to Congress and the Heritage Foundation, a conservative group. Biden’s legal team pushed back hard.
“Every American, including a sitting or former Vice President, has a right to privacy in the personal conversations he has within his own home,” his attorneys wrote. They added that when the DOJ obtains private information through a criminal investigation, it carries a special duty to protect it.
The audio recordings at the heart of the case come from interviews Biden gave at his home in 2016 and 2017 with Mark Zwonitzer, a writer who collaborated with him on two memoirs. Special counsel Robert Hur reviewed the files as part of his investigation into Biden’s retention of classified documents from his time as senator and vice president. Hur’s year-long probe resulted in a 345-page report that questioned Biden’s age and mental sharpness but stopped short of recommending criminal charges. He cited insufficient evidence to prosecute.
This is not the first time Joe Biden has fought to keep recordings private. In 2024, the House voted to hold then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress after the White House invoked executive privilege to block the release of audio from Biden’s interview with Hur directly. Transcripts from five hours of those interviews were released separately that year, showing Biden was at times unclear on dates and details.
(Source: NPR)
