DOJ Releases Biden Ghostwriter Recordings After Court Battle

Jul 27, 2026

The U.S. Justice Department and the conservative Oversight Project have released audio recordings of former President Joe Biden's 2016 and 2017 interviews with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer. The release follows a two-year legal battle that ended when Biden dropped his lawsuit after a federal appeals court ruled against him. On the tapes, Biden acknowledges finding classified documents in his home and warns his writer to be careful, reinforcing findings from Special Counsel Robert Hur's 2024 report.

Biden audio recordings release

▪The conservative nonprofit Oversight Project made the audio recordings of Joe Biden's interviews available online via YouTube on July 27, 2026.
▪The United States Justice Department released audio recordings and transcripts of former President Joe Biden's interviews with his memoir ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, on July 27, 2026.
▪The released audio recordings consist of approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes of material from roughly 70 hours of total recorded interviews.

Classified document handling investigation

▪In a February 16, 2017, recording, Joe Biden told Mark Zwonitzer that he had "just found all the classified stuff downstairs" at his Virginia rental home.
▪Joe Biden warned Mark Zwonitzer in the recordings that some discussed information might be classified, stating "Some of this may be classified … So, be careful."
▪In an October 10, 2016, recording, Joe Biden told Mark Zwonitzer that he possessed extensive notes from his vice presidency that the White House did not know about.

Special Counsel Hur report findings

▪Special Counsel Robert Hur concluded that prosecutors could not establish Joe Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or prove he willfully retained classified material.
▪Special Counsel Robert Hur wrote that Joe Biden would likely appear to a jury as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
▪Special Counsel Robert Hur declined to recommend criminal charges against Joe Biden in February 2024 over his retention of classified documents.

Biden memory concerns

▪Special Counsel Robert Hur characterized Joe Biden's recorded conversations from 2017 as "painfully slow" and noted Biden struggled to recall events.
▪During the recorded interviews, Joe Biden struggled to recall the names of two of his economic advisers and a lunch meeting with Larry Summers.

Legal battle over recordings disclosure

▪The Heritage Foundation and its Oversight Project initiated the legal battle by filing a Freedom of Information Act request for the recordings on February 9, 2024.
▪Joe Biden voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit against the Justice Department on July 24, 2026, after a federal appeals court ruled 2-1 against him on July 20, 2026.
▪Joe Biden's spokesperson, TJ Ducklo, criticized the release of the tapes, calling it an example of the Justice Department being weaponized for political retribution.