The public can now access recordings from interviews between former President Joe Biden and his memoir’s ghostwriter. These were obtained during the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Hur into Biden’s handling of classified documents.

Biden’s legal team fought to prevent the tapes’ release, but eventually dropped their lawsuit. A judge accepted this on a recent Monday. Mike Howell, originally with the Heritage Foundation and now with the Oversight Project, pursued the recordings for over two years through FOIA requests. He claims public interest in reviewing the tapes was strong due to Hur’s decision.

Details of the Released Recordings

The Oversight Project made public hours of Biden’s 2016 and 2017 discussions with Mark Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter of “Promise Me, Dad.” During the talks, Biden frequently paused and had difficulty recalling events. Hur’s report also highlights these struggles.

Biden didn’t want these tapes to come out. There’s no joy in Bidenville today. The decision by Hur and Merrick Garland to not pursue charges against Biden must be reconsidered, said Jeff Clark from the Oversight Project.

The House Judiciary noted 2 hours and 45 minutes of recordings were released. Hur’s investigation into Biden’s document handling goes back to his time as vice president and senator. Hur did not press charges, citing the inability to prove Biden deliberately kept or disclosed classified information.

Content of the Recordings

Hur’s report indicated Biden had memory issues during recorded interviews in 2017 and a 2023 office interview. Hur believed Biden might appear to a jury as a sympathetic man with poor memory, not as someone breaking laws.

The recordings show Biden frequently paused, forgot names, and struggled with specific dates. In a 2014 Situation Room meeting discussion, Biden warned Zwonitzer, Some of this may be classified, so be careful, while uncertain about the classification status.

On April 24, 2017, Biden could not remember two economic advisers’ names, eventually recognizing Alan Krueger after a long pause.

That same day, he also forgot the date of a memorial service, remembering being there but not the person’s name. This showed his difficulty with details.

Biden planned to clarify and make notes on his memory lapses.

Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.