{"id":2628031,"date":"2026-07-10T14:34:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T18:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-temporarily-blocks-release-of-biden-hur-interview-tapes\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T14:36:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T18:36:35","slug":"appeals-court-temporarily-blocks-release-of-biden-hur-interview-tapes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-temporarily-blocks-release-of-biden-hur-interview-tapes\/","title":{"rendered":"Appeals court temporarily blocks release of Biden-Hur interview tapes"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/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%2Fappeals-court-temporarily-blocks-release-of-biden-hur-interview-tapes%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=2628031&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>An appeals court has temporarily blocked the Justice Department from releasing audio recordings of former President Joe Biden\u2019s interviews with his ghostwriter, granting a 10-day pause to consider Biden&#8217;s emergency appeal. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.Circuit ordered the DOJ not to release the recordings to the Heritage Foundation and Mike Howell until July 20, aiming to preserve the status quo during review. This injunction does not determine the case&#8217;s merits.<\/p>\n<p>The recordings originate from Biden\u2019s interviews during work on his 2017 memoir, &#8220;Promise Me, dad,&#8221; and were obtained by the DOJ during an investigation into classified details mishandling. the Heritage Foundation requested the recordings under FOIA in April 2024, but the Biden administration refused, prompting legal battles. Former President Trump also filed a lawsuit over the recordings, claiming privacy interests.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich previously rejected Biden\u2019s attempt to block the disclosure, stating the recordings do not contain private information and serve the public interest, especially related to the investigation&#8217;s transparency. The recordings could shed light on why former Special counsel Robert Hur did not prosecute Biden, despite concluding he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/attempt-to-impeach-trump-already-underway\/\" title=\"Attempt to Impeach Trump Already Underway\">improperly retained classified documents<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>hur&#8217;s report indicated Biden had willfully mishandled classified information, but he declined to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-rebukes-rep-cheney-after-she-hints-at-making-criminal-referral\/\" title=\"Trump Rebukes Rep. Cheney After She Hints at Making Criminal Referral\">recommend criminal charges<\/a>, citing difficulties proving intent and suggesting Biden&#8217;s diminished mental capacity.The court is expected to decide before July 20 on whether Biden can obtain a longer injunction as his appeal continues.  <\/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\">An appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> from releasing audio recordings of former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\">Joe Biden<\/a>\u2019s interviews with his ghostwriter, granting a 10-day administrative pause while it considers Biden\u2019s emergency appeal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, comprised of Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Judge Gregory Katsas, and Judge Florence Pan,\u00a0ordered the DOJ not to release\u00a0the contested recordings to the Heritage Foundation and its former Oversight Project director, Mike Howell, until 11:59 p.m. on July 20.<\/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\/4643815\/peter-navarro-seeks-precedent-for-years-to-come-with-renewed-contempt-fight\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Peter Navarro seeks \u2018precedent for years to come\u2019 with renewed contempt fight<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4643608\/new-jersey-non-citizens-voting-sued-rnc\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>New Jersey sued over law allowing non-citizens who never lived in state to vote<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4643066\/federal-judges-warring-rulings-dhs-citizenship-database\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Federal judges issue warring rulings over DHS citizenship database for voter roll checks<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">From l-r., former President Joe Biden, former first lady Jill Biden, former first lady Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on stage during the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/AP26169634487564.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From l-r., former President Joe Biden, former first lady Jill Biden, former first lady Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on stage during the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The panel explained that the administrative injunction is intended only to preserve the status quo while it reviews Biden\u2019s request for a longer injunction pending appeal and \u201cshould not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>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\">The order temporarily halts <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/73394227\/biden-jr-v-us-department-of-justice\/?filed_after=&#038;filed_before=&#038;entry_gte=&#038;entry_lte=&#038;order_by=desc#minute-entry-468151378\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/73394227\/biden-jr-v-us-department-of-justice\/?filed_after=&#038;filed_before=&#038;entry_gte=&#038;entry_lte=&#038;order_by=desc#minute-entry-468151378\">a ruling<\/a> from U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, an appointee of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>, who last month rejected Biden\u2019s effort to block disclosure of roughly 70 hours of audio recordings that were obtained by the Justice Department during former special counsel Robert Hur\u2019s investigation into the former president\u2019s handling of classified documents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are monitoring the situation and, as always, will do whatever is in the best interest of getting these tapes out to the American people as fast as possible,\u201d Howell told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. The Oversight Project, previously an extension of the Heritage Foundation, moved to become an independent entity in March last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The recordings stem from Biden\u2019s interviews with ghostwriter <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3058016\/biden-ghostwriter-contempt-vote-house-judiciary-committee\/\">Mark Zwonitzer<\/a> while the two worked on Biden\u2019s 2017 memoir, <em>Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose<\/em>. The DOJ later obtained the recordings during Hur\u2019s investigation into whether Biden improperly retained and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-pentagon-pick-colin-kahl-denies-leaking-classified-information-on-social-media\/\" title=\"Biden Pentagon Pick Colin Kahl Denies Leaking Classified Information on Social Media\">disclosed classified information<\/a> after serving as vice president.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>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 first sought the recordings through a Freedom of Information Act request in April 2024. Although the Biden administration declined to release them, the Trump administration informed the conservative group earlier this year that it intended to reverse that position, prompting Biden to sue the Justice Department to prevent disclosure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the Trump administration in February indicated its intent to reverse a Biden-era DOJ hold on the tapes, the former president <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4583038\/biden-sues-doj-audio-hur-investigation\/\">filed his own lawsuit<\/a> contesting the move. He argued the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >recordings captured private conversations inside<\/a> his home and that he retained a privacy interest in them despite their use in a federal criminal investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Friedrich rejected that argument in a June ruling, finding that the recordings had already been heavily redacted and \u201ccontain no information about Biden\u2019s family or other private persons.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>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\">\u201cThe harm to Biden\u2019s diminished privacy interest is outweighed by the public\u2019s interest in the Zwonitzer materials and FOIA\u2019s policy of broad disclosure of Government documents,\u201d Friedrich wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Heritage Foundation has argued the recordings are of significant public interest because they could shed additional light on Hur\u2019s decision not to prosecute Biden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hur\u2019s February <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/storage\/report-from-special-counsel-robert-k-hur-february-2024.pdf\">2024 report<\/a> concluded that Biden had willfully retained and disclosed classified information after leaving the vice presidency, including by reading classified material aloud to Zwonitzer during work on the memoir.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4617021\/judge-allow-doj-release-biden-audio-heritage-foundation\/\">JUDGE ALLOWS DOJ TO RELEASE BIDEN INTERVIEW AUDIO TO HERITAGE FOUNDATION<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/2845770\/hur-report-biden-as-elderly-man-poor-memory\/\">Hur ultimately declined <\/a>to recommend criminal charges, concluding prosecutors would likely be unable to prove Biden\u2019s intent beyond a reasonable doubt and that a jury would probably view him as \u201ca sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,\u201d a comment that tore into Democrats\u2019 claims at the time that Biden was a cogent president capable of leading the country. Biden later bowed out of the 2024 presidential race in July, weeks after his infamously poor debate performance against Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The D.C. Circuit is expected to decide before July 20 whether Biden is entitled to a longer injunction while his appeal proceeds.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Appeals court halts DOJ release of Biden&#8217;s interview recordings for 10 days<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2628032,"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\/07\/AP26169692270649.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[3620,33740,6234,4151,4431],"class_list":["post-2628031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-biden","tag-court-ruling","tag-interview","tag-judiciary","tag-legal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26169692270649.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2628031","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\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2628031"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2628031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2628035,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2628031\/revisions\/2628035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2628032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2628031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2628031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2628031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}