{"id":2633123,"date":"2026-07-21T13:22:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-shoots-down-bidens-bid-to-hide-recordings-of-memoir-interviews\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T13:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:26:24","slug":"appeals-court-shoots-down-bidens-bid-to-hide-recordings-of-memoir-interviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-shoots-down-bidens-bid-to-hide-recordings-of-memoir-interviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Appeals Court Denies Biden&#8217;s Bid To Hide Memoir Recordings"},"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-shoots-down-bidens-bid-to-hide-recordings-of-memoir-interviews%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=2633123&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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-ducks-emergency-appeal-in-tennessee-abortion-case\/\" title=\"Supreme ... Ducks Emergency Appeal in Tennessee Abortion Case\">federal appellate court<\/a> rejected Joe Biden\u2019s attempt to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of his conversations with his ghostwriter during the readiness of his 2017 memoir. The 2-1 ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Biden\u2019s emergency motion for an injunction to prevent the disclosures, which stem from investigations into his handling of classified materials. The majority opinion, written by Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Gregory Katsas, found that Biden failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits or irreparable harm. The records in question became accessible thru a Special Counsel inquiry and were subject to FOIA requests, which the Biden Justice Department initially withheld but later agreed to disclose with redactions. Biden filed for a preliminary injunction to stop this disclosure, but the court denied his request after assessing that his arguments did not meet the required legal standards. judge Florence Pan dissented,arguing that the court should adopt a more flexible approach and consider potential harms to Biden. the decision allows for the possibility of further appeals.  <\/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<div>\n<p>A federal appellate court on Monday shot down Joe Biden\u2019s bid to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of conversations he had with his memoir ghostwriter prior to becoming president.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cadc.43328\/gov.uscourts.cadc.43328.01208870816.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2-1 ruling<\/a>, a panel for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Biden\u2019s emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal to prevent the disclosure of the records and audio of his 2016-2017 discussions with his writing partner Mark Zwonitzer while preparing his 2017 book. The majority was comprised of Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan (Obama appointee) and Judge Gregory Katsas (Trump appointee), while Judge Florence Pan (Biden appointee) dissented. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe accordingly conclude that Biden has not shown a likelihood that the requested materials must be withheld from disclosure,\u201d the majority wrote. <\/p>\n<p>As noted by Srinivasan and Katsas, the legal dispute over the contested materials can be traced to 2023, when then-Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Special Counsel <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/robert-hur\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Robert Hur<\/a> to probe Biden\u2019s handling of classified materials \u201cduring and after\u201d his time as vice president. It was \u201cunder an agreement limiting their use to the Special Counsel\u2019s investigation\u201d that the Biden Justice Department acquired the audio recordings of Biden\u2019s discussions with Zwonitzer and \u201cprepared transcripts of the recorded conversations.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/08\/prosecutors-decline-to-charge-elderly-biden-over-poor-memory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, Hur concluded in his 2024 report \u201cthat no criminal charges are warranted\u201d in his investigation into Biden\u2019s mishandling of classified materials despite his team finding records \u201crelated to foreign policy in Afghanistan and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/facebook-censors-media-who-criticize-fbis-deadly-force-raid-against-trump\/\" title=\"Facebook censors media critical of FBI&#039;s Trump raid\">handwritten notes \u2018implicating sensitive intelligence<\/a>.\u2019\u201d Federal authorities justified their refusal to charge Biden because the then-president \u201cwould likely present himself to the jury, as he did during our interview with him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt,\u201d prosecutors wrote at the time. \u201cIt would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him \u2014 by then a former president well into his eighties \u2014 of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That same year, the Heritage Foundation and Mike Howell, the president of Heritage\u2019s Oversight Project, brought action under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain the audio recordings and transcripts. As noted by Srinivasan and Katsas, the Biden DOJ \u201cwithheld the bulk of the requested materials, citing several FOIA exemptions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In February 2026, however, the Trump DOJ \u201creversed course and represented that it intended to disclose the materials, with redactions, to Plaintiffs and the House Judiciary Committee.\u201d It was at that point at which Biden filed legal action seeking a preliminary injunction to block their release. The former president\u2019s request was <a href=\"https:\/\/san.com\/cc\/judge-denies-biden-bid-to-block-release-of-recordings-tied-to-classified-documents-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">denied<\/a> by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia last month. <\/p>\n<p>In their ruling rejecting Biden\u2019s emergency motion for an injunction, Srinivasan and Katsas laid out several qualifications the former president must meet before such relief can be granted, such as showing a likelihood of success on the merits of his arguments and that he is likely to suffer \u201cirreparable harm\u201d in the absence of an injunction. After assessing Biden\u2019s arguments that \u201che is likely to succeed on the merits,\u201d the two appellate judges concluded that \u201che has not made that showing,\u201d and subsequently \u201cden[ied] his motion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe central question on the merits is whether Biden is likely to succeed in showing that a FOIA exemption applies to the requested materials and that the Privacy Act thus bars their disclosure. While the requested recordings were not government records when originally created by Zwonitzer and Biden in connection with the preparation of Biden\u2019s 2017 memoir, it is undisputed that they became subject to FOIA\u2019s disclosure mandate when the Special Counsel obtained possession of them as part of his investigation,\u201d the court ruled. <\/p>\n<p>Srinivasan and Katsas also shot down Biden\u2019s claims that the DOJ\u2019s decision to disclose the recordings and transcripts \u201cis arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion in violation of the [Administrative Procedure Act] APA.\u201d The two judges agreed with the district court\u2019s determination that Biden\u2019s arguments \u201care unlikely to succeed\u201d and noted that the DOJ \u201cdisplayed awareness that it was changing position, explained that its reason for doing so was in part based on its making additional redactions to the requested materials, and reasonably weighed the interests at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In her dissent, Pan argued that Biden \u201c\u2018is not required to prove his case in full&#8217;\u201d at this stage of the case\u2019s proceedings, and that the appellate court\u2019s task \u201cis not to \u2018conclusively determine the rights of the parties\u2019 \u2014 rather, we should merely \u2018balance the equities as the litigation moves forward.&#8217;\u201d She further claimed that the majority did \u201cnot address the mootness problem\u201d and \u201cinstead focus[ed] exclusively on [Biden\u2019s] likelihood of success on the merits, which they view as an independent and sufficient basis to deny the injunction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would consider the preliminary-injunction factors more flexibly under the well-established \u2018sliding scale\u2019 approach, which provides that when the other equities weigh in a movant\u2019s favor, and he can show irreparable harm, he \u2018need not necessarily show a 51% likelihood of success,&#8217;\u201d Pan wrote. \u201cIn any event, I disagree with my colleagues\u2019 evaluation of Biden\u2019s likelihood of success on the merits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The D.C. Circuit panel paused its decision until Aug. 3 to permit Biden time to consider another appeal \u201cif he wishes.\u201d <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Court rejects Biden\u2019s bid to block release of his memoir recordings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2633124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Joe-Biden.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32324,3620,32546,82970,47105],"class_list":["post-2633123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-appeals-court","tag-biden","tag-legal-decision","tag-memoir-recordings","tag-privacy-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Joe-Biden.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633123","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\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2633123"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2633127,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633123\/revisions\/2633127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2633124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2633123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2633123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2633123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}