politics
Federal Judge Orders Release of Audio Tapes From Classified Documents Probe
A federal judge denied a request to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts gathered during a special counsel investigation. The materials include interviews with a ghostwriter and will be provided to a think tank and Congress with redactions.
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A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump denied a request on Friday to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts from an investigation into the handling of classified documents. The ruling allows the Department of Justice to provide the materials, with redactions, to The Heritage Foundation and Congress.
The judge found that the public interest in understanding the investigation outweighed remaining privacy concerns after planned redactions.
The request sought audio recordings and transcripts of interviews with a ghostwriter conducted for a 2017 memoir. The Biden administration initially withheld the recordings under privacy exemptions. After the presidential transition, the Trump administration authorized their release with redactions, prompting a lawsuit to stop the transfer.
The judge wrote that the edited materials contain no mention of highly sensitive topics such as illness or death, nor do they reference non-public persons including family members. The court determined that the government's planned redactions adequately address privacy claims.
Representatives for the plaintiff have asked the judge to stay the order while they pursue an expedited appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
