Biden Seeks to Block Release of 2017 Audio Recordings

President Biden's lawyers are expected to object to the Justice Department's planned release of redacted written transcripts and audio recordings from his 2017 interactions with a book ghostwriter, according to a court filing. The filing, submitted in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Heritage Foundation's Mike Howell, states that Biden intends to seek to intervene to prevent any such disclosures.

Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Brett Shumate wrote that Biden, through counsel, has advised the department of this position. There is a Tuesday deadline for Biden's lawyers to respond regarding the release tied to Howell's FOIA request.

If Biden objects before the deadline, the release of 70 hours of redacted recordings would be delayed until June 15.

The audio and transcript were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur's investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents after the Obama administration ended. The materials included instances of documents stored in his garage and at the Penn Biden Center.

The Justice Department has stated it intends to disclose the written transcript and audio recordings, with redactions, to Congress pursuant to a request from the chair of the House Judiciary Committee as well as to the plaintiffs in the FOIA lawsuit.

A Biden spokesperson said the president cooperated fully with special counsel Hur and agreed to provide the audiotapes of conversations with his biographer for a book about his deceased son on the condition that they would not be made public. The spokesperson added that the Justice Department has said these tapes serve no public interest and described the current effort as political rather than about transparency.

Pursuit of the Materials Howell, president of the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project, said the tapes will further prove claims regarding Biden’s fitness for office and that Biden revealed classified information. Howell added that the objection comes at the last possible second after every delay tactic possible.

The court filing notes that after lengthy negotiations covering several months, Biden has changed position and now seeks to enjoin release of portions of transcripts that match exact phrases quoted in the Hur report. The filing also states that Biden's lead counsel was unable to provide information about submissions, describing the discussion as 16 months late.

The Justice Department issued a new warning regarding Tuesday's deadline regardless of the objections. The filing concludes that the public deserves to hear the tapes and read the transcripts as redacted by President Donald J. Trump’s Department of Justice.