Former President Joe Biden speaks to a crowd during a fundraising event with the South Carolina Democratic Party at the Columbia Museum of Art on February 27, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Former President Joe Biden is suing the Justice Department to try and block the release of audio transcripts from his interviews with a ghostwriter.
The audio recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur, who was investigating Biden’s handling of classified documents. Here’s the latest:
Biden sues DOJ
What we know:
Biden’s lawsuit hopes to stop President Trump’s Justice Department from releasing the files to Congress and the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. The Justice Department denied the Heritage Foundation’s request for the records in 2024, when Biden was still in office, arguing the files were exempt from public records laws and not subject to release. Trump reversed that position when he took office for a second term in 2025.
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What we don't know:
It's unclear when the case will be heard or if a judge may grant an injuction to block the files' release, at least temporarily.
Timeline:
According to Reuters, the Justice Department plans to release the files to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and the Heritage Foundation on June 15.
What they're saying:
Biden’s lawyers say the release would "constitute an unwarranted invasion of President Biden’s privacy," The Associated Press reports.
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"Every American, including a sitting or former Vice President, has a right to privacy in the personal conversations he has within his own home," the lawsuit states. "And when the U.S. Department of Justice obtains that private information through a criminal investigation, the Department bears a particular responsibility to protect it from disclosure."
What’s in the audio files?
The backstory:
The audio recordings and transcripts Biden is trying to block took place at his home in 2016 and 2017 with Mark Zwonitzer, who worked with Biden on his two memoirs. The files were reviewed by Hur as part of his investigation into the president’s improper retention of classified documents, from his time as a senator and as vice president.
Hur’s yearlong investigation led to a 345-page report that didn’t recommend criminal charges against Biden. Trump was charged in 2023 in a 40-count federal indictment for his alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, but those charges were dropped in 2024 after he won the election.
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Biden separately fought the release of audio interviews with Hur, but Congress held former Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to turn them over. They were eventually released the same year.
Dig deeper:
Although Hur’s report didn’t recommend criminal charges, it did question Biden’s age and mental acuity at 81 years old. In interviews with Hur, Biden was adamant that he treated classified information seriously, but the transcript showed he was fuzzy at times about dates and details. He also said he was unfamiliar with the paper trail for some of the sensitive documents he handled.
The Source: This article includes information from Reuters, The Associated Press and previous FOX Local reporting.