A federal judge on Friday blocked the release of audio recordings tied to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s classified documents investigation into former President Joe Biden, granting a temporary three-week injunction while a federal appeals court reviews Biden’s legal challenge.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, issued the order pending review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The ruling came hours after Friedrich denied Biden’s separate bid for a preliminary injunction, which would have stopped the release entirely. The narrower order pending appeal gives Biden’s legal team time to press their case before the circuit court.
The recordings at the center of the dispute are conversations Biden held with Mark Zwonitzer, his ghostwriter for the 2017 memoir “Promise Me, Dad.” The Justice Department previously released other audio from Biden’s direct interviews with Hur’s investigators, but the Zwonitzer recordings have not been made public. The legal fight now centers on whether federal public records law requires their disclosure.
Hur’s 2024 report described some of Biden’s recorded conversations with Zwonitzer as “painfully slow.” The special counsel wrote that Biden at times “struggled to recall events and relay information” and cited those observations in explaining his decision not to prosecute Biden for mishandling classified documents. That decision, and the reasoning behind it, attracted intense scrutiny during the 2024 presidential campaign.
The Heritage Foundation and its Oversight Project, led by Director Mike Howell, have sought the recordings through Freedom of Information Act requests for more than two years. Heritage officials argued in court filings that the public has a compelling interest in the materials because Hur referenced them throughout his report and relied on them directly in deciding not to bring charges against Biden.
The legal outcome will determine whether the recordings ever reach the public. The D.C. Circuit must now decide whether to issue a broader stay. If the court declines, the three-week window Friedrich granted could expire before appellate proceedings resolve, giving the Justice Department authority to release the tapes. If the circuit court grants further protection, Biden may be able to keep them sealed while litigation continues.
Biden’s legal team has worked to suppress the recordings since Hur’s report raised questions about the former president’s cognitive condition during an election year. Biden has maintained the tapes are protected from disclosure.
