Appeals Court Denies Biden Bid to Block Recordings but Stays Release Until August 3

A federal appeals court on Monday night denied former President Joe Biden's attempt to keep the Justice Department from giving the Heritage Foundation redacted transcripts and audio recordings of conversations with his biographer. In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Biden's bid to block the release.

The majority opinion stated that Biden had not shown a likelihood that the requested materials must be withheld from disclosure. The court stayed its opinion until August 3 to allow time for further appeals. " The Heritage Foundation sought the material after former special counsel Robert Hur's 2024 report referenced the conversations.

The Justice Department initially withheld the tapes and most transcripts under Freedom of Information Act exemptions. After President Trump returned to the White House, the department said it intended to provide the material to Congress and the Heritage Foundation. Biden moved to intervene in the Heritage Foundation's 2024 lawsuit.

A federal judge rejected his request last month and paused the release for three weeks. Biden's lawyers argued the private conversations were never meant for wider release and that the department obtained them only through a criminal investigation that produced no charges.

They added there was no meaningful public interest in decade-old conversations of a former president who is now a private citizen.

The Justice Department countered that releasing the materials would allow the public to assess the persuasiveness of Hur's determinations. The book, now titled "Promise Me, America," is expected to be published late this year.