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Biden sues justice department to block release of Hur interview audio
TL;DR
Joe Biden has filed a lawsuit to block the release of audio and transcripts from interviews that highlight his memory issues, which could impact his 2024 re-election campaign. The interviews were part of a special counsel investigation into his handling of classified documents.
Key points
- Biden filed a lawsuit against the justice department.
- The lawsuit aims to block the release of interview transcripts and audio.
- The interviews revealed Biden's memory lapses.
- Biden withdrew from the 2024 election due to concerns about his age.
- Robert Hur's report found no criminal wrongdoing by Biden.
Mentioned in this story
Joe BidenKamala HarrisRobert Hurjustice department
Joe Biden, the former president, has filed a lawsuit to try to prevent the justice department (DoJ) from releasing transcripts and audio of interviews that exposed his frequent memory lapses and helped derail his 2024 re-election campaign.
The decade-old conversations with the author of his biography ended up in the hands of Robert Hur, the special counsel who was appointed to look into allegations Biden improperly handled classified documents.
Hur evaluated the files, and also spent five hours interviewing Biden himself, concluding in a 2024 report to Congress that there was no criminal wrongdoing, but portraying the then 81-year-old president as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”.
Biden withdrew from the 2024 election following repeated questioning of his age and mental competence, and endorsed Kamala Harris as the ultimately unsuccessful Democratic nominee.
His lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington DC, accuses the DoJ of an “unwarranted invasion of President Biden’s privacy”.
It seeks to halt the department, which once fought to keep the transcripts and recordings secret, from handing them over to the Republican-controlled House judiciary committee and conservative Heritage Foundation.
“Every American, including a sitting or former vice-president, has a right to privacy in the personal conversations he has within his own home,” his attorneys wrote of the conversations from 2016 and 2017 with Mark Zwonitzer, the author who worked with Biden on two memoirs .
“And when the US Department of Justice obtains that private information through a criminal investigation, the Department bears a particular responsibility to protect it from disclosure.”
The recordings, made during and immediately after Biden served as Barack Obama’s vice-president, were scrutinized by Hur, a Republican, as part of his investigation.
In his report, Hur found Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen”, including “classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan”, but said it did not warrant criminal charges.
Biden welcomed the 345-page report, but pushed back on Hur’s assertion he had a “significantly limited” memory because he struggled to recall key events and facts.
Q&A
Why is Biden suing the justice department?
Biden is suing the justice department to prevent the release of interview transcripts and audio that he claims invade his privacy and expose his memory lapses.
What did the special counsel report conclude about Biden?
The special counsel, Robert Hur, concluded that there was no criminal wrongdoing by Biden but described him as an elderly man with a poor memory.
How did Biden's memory issues affect his 2024 election campaign?
Biden's memory issues and concerns about his age led to repeated questioning of his competence, ultimately resulting in his withdrawal from the 2024 election.
What are the implications of Biden endorsing Kamala Harris?
Biden's endorsement of Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee reflects his influence in the party, despite her unsuccessful campaign following his withdrawal.
