At another point, Biden said, “The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified.” Biden also dropped an apparent f-bomb at one point during his interviews, saying, “F*** me, you know.”

The recordings were made while Biden worked with Zwonitzer on his 2017 memoir, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. No classified information was alleged to have appeared in the published book.

The tapes became the subject of intense scrutiny after Hur referenced them in his February 2024 report. Hur began investigating after documents bearing classification markings from Biden’s years in the Senate and the vice presidency were found at his Delaware home and private office.

Hur ultimately declined to recommend criminal charges.

The special counsel described Biden, who interviewed with the special counsel during the investigation, as “struggling to remember events,” exhibiting “diminished faculties,” and engaging in conversations that were sometimes “painfully slow.” Biden speaks haltingly in portions of the recordings, although signs that he was struggling with his memory, seven years before the special counsel investigation, are sometimes subtle.

During one exchange, Biden appears to lose his train of thought.

“All right — what was I going to ask you? Something else,” Biden said. “Uh … um. Oh gosh. I can’t think of anything else.”

Other recordings include Biden describing potentially sensitive meetings, including “a big meeting with the CIA and everyone,” “a big meeting down in the Situation Room,” and “a long meeting where DOD brief … POTUS.”

During an Oct. 10, 2016, conversation, Biden told Zwonitzer he possessed extensive notes that the White House did not know he had.

“I have extensive notes over this period of time,” Biden said. “They didn’t know I have this.”

In a Feb. 16, 2017, recording, Biden said, “I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.”

Hur cited that remark as evidence that Biden possessed classified material at his Virginia rental home after leaving office. The special counsel called Biden’s tone “matter-of-fact” but said it was possible he quickly forgot about the documents.

Other portions show Biden exercising caution. While still serving as vice president, he referred during a November 2016 conversation to the “nonclassified part of my discussion with POTUS.”

Hur’s report said Biden showed Zwonitzer “classified notes from a National Security Council meeting” during the Obama administration. The special counsel nevertheless concluded that the Justice Department would be unlikely to secure a conviction because prosecutors could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Biden acted willfully.

Hur wrote that jurors might instead view Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

When the report was released, Biden denied sharing classified information with Zwonitzer.

“I did not share classified information,” Biden told reporters. “I did not share it with my ghostwriter.”

The Washington Examiner contacted Biden’s representatives for comment on the recordings.

“Last, ask yourself, why didn’t Special Counsel Robert Hur seek a prosecution and then (A) the forfeiture the $8 million book advance that Joe Biden got for Promise Me, Dad; and (B) his Delaware house and any other Biden property where he kept classified information?” Oversight Project Vice President Jeff Clark posted on X.

Clark also pointed out Biden’s “two years of stonewalling” over the release of the tapes, saying almost nothing he’s come across had anything to do with private family matters.

The tapes were released following a two-year court battle brought by the Oversight Project, a conservative nonprofit organization that says its mission is to “expose and root out corruption in government.”

Biden’s lawyers sought to block the disclosure, but the former president abandoned the effort after a divided federal appeals court ruled against him on July 20.

Biden could have requested reconsideration by the full appeals court or asked the Supreme Court to intervene. His attorneys instead voluntarily dismissed the case.

The Oversight Project called the ruling a “complete and total victory.”

BIDEN DROPS LAWSUIT SEEKING BLOCK OF MEMOIR TAPES AFTER COURT LOSS

Biden received an $8 million advance for Promise Me, Dad. He plans to release another memoir, Promise Me, America, in November.

The full list of audio recordings can be heard on the Oversight Project’s YouTube channel. Read the full transcript below:

Biden Zwonitzer Interview Transcripts by reportoftheday