Former President Joe Biden acknowledged in recently released recordings that he retained classified information from his time as vice president, according to audio and transcripts made public on July 27 by the Oversight Project, a division of the Heritage Foundation. The materials emerged following Biden’s withdrawal of a lawsuit aimed at preventing their disclosure.
The recordings, totaling approximately three hours along with 117 pages of transcripts, feature interviews Biden gave in 2017 to Mark Lewis Zwonitzer, a ghostwriter working on his memoir. During these conversations, Biden revealed he possessed sensitive documents from 2009 relating to Afghanistan strategy. He described finding classified material at his home and referenced a handwritten memorandum he wrote to then-President Barack Obama, advising against sending additional troops to Afghanistan. Biden expressed skepticism about the impact of the troop deployments, suggesting the situation would remain unchanged after U.S. forces left the country.
The release follows a June 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who determined that despite Biden’s interest in maintaining privacy, the public’s right to transparency outweighed it under the Freedom of Information Act. The judge authorized the release of the recordings after rejecting Biden’s attempt to block disclosure. Biden’s legal team voluntarily dismissed their case on July 24, then the Oversight Project proceeded with publishing the redacted materials.
The Justice Department initially obtained the audio and transcripts in connection with Special Counsel Robert Hur’s 2023 investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents. Hur elected not to pursue charges in February 2024, citing factors such as Biden’s age at the time—74—and what Hur described as Biden’s “poor memory.” Nevertheless, Hur indicated that classified materials were indeed shared during the interviews.
Biden’s longtime spokesman, TJ Ducklo, condemned the release as politically motivated. He described the interviews, which also discuss the death of Biden’s son Beau, as private conversations that had been entrusted to the Justice Department under confidentiality conditions. Ducklo accused the release of representing an attempt to weaponize the government for political purposes.
In addition to foreign policy discussions, the recordings include Biden’s reflections on his deliberations over entering the 2016 presidential race. Biden recounted a conversation with Obama in which the then-president expressed doubt about Biden’s chances of winning the Democratic nomination, particularly against Hillary Clinton. Citing Obama’s skepticism, Biden ultimately chose not to run in 2016, opting to wait until the 2020 election cycle.
The release provides new insight into Biden’s tenure as vice president and his private decision-making processes during a pivotal moment in U.S. politics, while also reigniting debate over the handling and disclosure of sensitive information by former senior officials.