President Trump responds to Biden lawsuit over Justice Department interview recording
Donald Trump answered a question about Joe Biden’s lawsuit against the Justice Department to block the release of a tape interview.
A federal judge has ruled that hours of audio recordings related to former President Joe Biden’s 2017 memoir can be turned over to the Heritage Foundation, rejecting his bid to block the release of the information.
In a June 20 ruling, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said Biden’s privacy interests, while real, outweighed the government’s obligation under FOIA to promote public interest in the material and transparency.
The decision was a setback for Biden, who sued the Justice Department in May to block the release of the recordings. The Heritage Foundation claims the files may show evidence that Biden mishandled classified information, a claim Biden denies.
Mr. Biden’s lawyers immediately moved to request an injunction pending an appeal, indicating that there is an ongoing dispute over whether the audio should be released.
Background of the conflict
The recording comes from an interview Biden gave in 2017 to Mark Zwonitzer, author of a memoir about the death of his son Beau Biden. The Justice Department obtained the documents during Special Counsel Robert Hur’s 2023 investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Mr. Xu ultimately rejected the charges in February 2024, but said Mr. Biden had shared classified material in the context of that conversation.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C., filed a Freedom of Information Act petition and later filed a lawsuit seeking access to the conversations between Mr. Biden and Mr. Zwonitzer. The group said the materials were in response to a records request after the Fuhr investigation and argued they should be released under FOIA rules governing public access to government-held documents.
The foundation’s legal push focuses on the idea that the recordings are part of the records examined during the special counsel’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified information and are therefore subject to disclosure with appropriate redactions.
Judges cite public interest as a reason
In his ruling, Friedrich wrote that Biden’s “diminished concern for privacy” is more harmful to the public interest in disclosure and FOIA’s “broad disclosure policy of government documents.”
He also pointed out that the Justice Department’s edits cover sensitive material. Friedrich, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said he personally reviewed the redacted material and found it contained no information about Biden’s family or other individuals.
Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Biden, mentioned the legal battle last month. In his comments at a Cabinet meeting in May, President Trump said he wanted the recording to be made public. “I’d like to see it,” he said, insisting that the public should hear what Biden said in the recording.
He also addressed the issue on Truth Social, calling Biden a “crooked politician” and suggesting the recordings cast doubt on Biden’s fitness to serve in office. Trump said Democrats “came very close to destroying our country” in what he described as bad policy decisions.
Contributor: USA TODAY reporter Saman Shafiq
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com or X @athompsonUSAT.
