The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit late Monday rejected former President Joe Biden's emergency request to prevent the release of audio recordings of his conversations with memoir ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer, clearing the way for potential public disclosure as soon as August 3.
The recordings were obtained by Special Counsel Robert Hur during his investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents. They capture conversations made while Zwonitzer was helping Biden write his memoir "Promise Me, Dad."
What the Right Is Saying
The Oversight Project, a conservative government accountability organization affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, is suing for the release of the ghostwriter tapes. The group secured last year's release of separate audio from Biden's interview with Hur, which revealed what it describes as significant memory concerns.
"What's striking is how desperately Biden fought to keep these conversations sealed," Vice President of Litigation Jeff Clark said in a statement. "The claim that the tapes were private family diaries or heirlooms is risible."
Oversight Project President Mike Howell said in a separate statement: "The evidence is stacking up that the sin was corporate in that the Democrat establishment, media, and power brokers knew that Biden wasn't capable of being president but they pushed him anyways."
Clark added: "This isn't just about memoirs; it's about whether Americans deserve to know who's really running things. The tapes will speak for themselves."
What the Left Is Saying
Defenders of Biden have argued that the recordings represent private communications between a former president and a collaborator working on a personal memoir, not official government business. They contend that releasing such materials could set problematic precedents for protecting the privacy of future presidents' personal reflections and creative processes.
Legal experts aligned with Democratic perspectives have noted that courts have historically recognized certain privileges around presidential papers and communications, particularly those unrelated to official duties. Some have argued that the emergency motion rejection does not necessarily foreclose other legal avenues Biden's team may pursue before August 3.
Representatives for the former president have maintained that the recordings are protected under principles of executive privilege and that their release would constitute an unprecedented intrusion into private communications.
What the Numbers Show
The D.C. Circuit rejected Biden's emergency motion without issuing a full opinion, meaning the legal reasoning behind the decision remains pending.
Hur obtained both audio and written materials from Zwonitzer during his investigation into classified documents found at Biden's Wilmington, Delaware residence and former office space.
Hur's February 2024 report declining to prosecute Biden described him as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" while noting the recordings were among evidence reviewed.
Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration have launched separate investigations into reported use of an autopen device for signing official documents during Biden's presidency. Those investigations remain ongoing according to reporting from multiple outlets.
The August 3 release date marks approximately two years since Hur submitted his classified report to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The Bottom Line
Unless Biden successfully obtains further relief from the courts before August 3, the recordings are expected to be released after the court's temporary stay expires. Legal observers note that additional appeals remain possible, including potential intervention by the Supreme Court.
The case raises broader questions about presidential records management and what materials related to a sitting president's personal creative work may ultimately become public. It also intensifies ongoing scrutiny of Biden's cognitive state during his final years in office, which Republicans have cited as justification for their autopen investigations.
Both sides are preparing for potential political fallout from the recordings' contents. The Oversight Project has signaled it expects the materials to provide additional evidence supporting its characterization of decision-making during the Biden administration.