{"id":2616394,"date":"2026-06-19T17:14:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T21:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-sides-with-doj-to-release-biden-audio-for-memoir-to-heritage-foundation\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T17:15:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T21:15:44","slug":"judge-sides-with-doj-to-release-biden-audio-for-memoir-to-heritage-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-sides-with-doj-to-release-biden-audio-for-memoir-to-heritage-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge sides with DOJ to release Biden audio for memoir to Heritage Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-sides-with-doj-to-release-biden-audio-for-memoir-to-heritage-foundation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2616394&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal judge rejected former President Joe Biden&#8217;s attempt to block teh release of roughly 70 hours of audio recordings he made while working on his memoir. These recordings were obtained by the Justice Department during an investigation into whether Biden mishandled classified materials. The Heritage Foundation requested these tapes under FOIA after the DOJ declined to press charges against Biden. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that the recordings, which mostly relate to Biden\u2019s 2017 memoir &#8220;promise me Dad,&#8221; can be released, emphasizing their public interest and the limited privacy concerns. Biden\u2019s lawyers instantly filed for an injunction pending appeal. The recordings include discussions where Biden allegedly disclosed classified data and raised concerns about his memory,but the DOJ decided not to pursue criminal charges,citing insufficient evidence of criminal intent. The judge\u2019s decision highlights the balance between privacy and openness, with the ruling favoring public disclosure to promote an informed citizenry.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A federal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/judges\/\">judge<\/a> on Friday denied former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\">Joe Biden\u2019s<\/a> attempt to block the release of dozens of hours of audio recordings he made while working on his memoir. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The audio tapes were obtained by the Justice Department during its investigation into concerns that Biden mishandled classified materials. The Heritage Foundation<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/heritage-foundation-mark-zwonitzer-foia.pdf\"> initially filed<\/a> a Freedom of Information Act request in April 2024 to obtain the conversations after the DOJ declined to press charges against the former president. When the Trump administration in February indicated its intent to reverse a Biden-era DOJ hold on the tapes, Biden retaliated <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4583038\/biden-sues-doj-audio-hur-investigation\/\">with a lawsuit<\/a>, arguing he holds \u201ca right to privacy in the personal conversations he has within his own home.\u201d <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4617021\/judge-allow-doj-release-biden-audio-heritage-foundation\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge allows DOJ to release Biden interview audio to Heritage Foundation<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4616858\/florida-subpoena-mlb-selectively-enforce-rule-christian\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Florida subpoenas MLB for \u2018selectively enforcing\u2019 uniform rules to reprimand Christian pitchers<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4616376\/ninth-circuit-ministries-hiring-like-minded-employees\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Ninth Circuit to weigh if religious ministries can limit hiring to like-minded employees<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich this week sided with the Heritage Foundation, dealing a blow to Biden\u2019s efforts to block the audio from being released to the public. Friedrich noted that the recorded conversations were significantly redacted and \u201ccontain no information about Biden\u2019s family or other private persons.\u201d Her ruling gives the DOJ the green light to release the recordings, though Biden\u2019s lawyers immediately launched an injunction pending appeal. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe harm to Biden\u2019s diminished privacy interest is outweighed by the public\u2019s interest in the Zwonitzer materials and FOIA\u2019s \u2018policy of broad disclosure of Government documents in order to ensure an informed citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic society,\u2019\u201d Friedrich wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conversations,<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4562555\/biden-expected-oppose-release-hur-tapes-heritage-foundation-lawsuit\/\"> around 70 hours of audio recordings<\/a>, relate to Biden\u2019s 2017 memoir <em>Promise Me Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship and Purpose<\/em>, which was ghostwritten by Mark Zwonitzer. Biden was accused of spilling classified information to Zwonitzer in ghostwritten tapes while they worked on the book. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over at the DOJ, special counsel Robert Hur began combing through the tapes in 2023 after he was appointed to investigate concerns that Biden spilled classified information in those recordings. Interest in the audio further peaked because other recordings of Biden were leaked, confirming that he struggled with his memory while he was president. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Heritage Foundation argued that there was significant public interest in releasing all the tapes to provide transparency as to why Hur declined to file criminal charges against Biden in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-asks-supreme-court-to-reject-trump-request-in-fbi-classified-documents-case\/\" title=\"... Asks Supreme Court to Reject Trump Request in FBI Classified Documents Case\">classified documents case<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4604445\/republicans-midterm-convention-trump\/\"><strong>REPUBLICANS BUILD MIDTERM CONVENTION AROUND TRUMP TO BOLSTER TURNOUT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his final February 2024 report,\u00a0Hur found that Biden willfully retained and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-fumes-over-special-counsel-report-highlighting-bidens-poor-memory\/\" title=\"White House angered by report on ...&#039;s &#039;weak recollection\">disclosed classified materials<\/a> after his vice presidency, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >including reading classified information aloud<\/a> to Zwonitzer and revealing sensitive military and foreign policy in Afghanistan. However, the DOJ declined to press charges, explaining it did not believe the evidence met the standard for criminal charges. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hur explained he believed there was a high probability that the Justice Department would not be able to prove Biden\u2019s intent beyond a reasonable doubt, saying the 81-year-old would likely present himself at trial as \u201ca sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Judge denies Biden&#8217;s bid to block memoir audio release<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2616395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2210473216.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[52685,3620,36848,4901,13028],"class_list":["post-2616394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-audio-release","tag-biden","tag-heritage-foundation","tag-justice","tag-memoir"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2210473216.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2616394"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2616398,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616394\/revisions\/2616398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2616395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2616394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2616394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2616394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}