Appeals court rejects Biden bid to block ghostwriter recordings

A federal appeals court on Monday night rejected former President Joe Biden's bid to prevent the Justice Department from releasing redacted transcripts and audio recordings of conversations he had with his biographer roughly a decade ago.

In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled against Biden's attempt to block the Heritage Foundation from obtaining the material. Judges Sri Srinivasan and Gregory Katsas, in an unsigned opinion, found that "Biden has not shown a likelihood that the requested materials must be withheld from disclosure."

The recordings stem from interviews Biden conducted with author Mark Zwonitzer, who ghostwrote Biden's 2017 memoir "Promise Me Dad." The audio and transcripts were used in special counsel Robert Hur's investigation into Biden's handling of classified information.

Biden's legal team had argued that releasing the material constituted an invasion of privacy. The Justice Department had previously claimed the recordings were exempt from disclosure under public records law. However, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, nominated by President Trump, ruled in June that the public had a right to hear the recordings. Biden subsequently appealed that decision.

In their ruling, Srinivasan and Katsas stated, "We conclude that any remaining incursion on personal privacy from disclosure of the now-redacted materials likely does not outweigh the public interest in disclosure." The court determined that redactions to the audio would help protect Biden's privacy while allowing the material to be released.

Judge Florence Pan dissented from the majority opinion.

The appeals court suspended its decision until August 3 to allow Biden time to consider filing another appeal. The stay provides the former president an opportunity to seek further legal action to block the release of the materials.