Recordings of Joe Biden’s Interviews Released

The recordings from interviews with former President Joe Biden for his memoir have been publicly released. These recordings were accessed during Robert Hur’s special counsel investigation into classified documents. Biden’s legal team initially opposed public access to these tapes but eventually ceased their efforts. A federal judge finalized this decision, allowing the release.

The recordings reveal Biden’s conversations with his memoir ghostwriter from 2016 and 2017. These tapes have raised questions about Biden’s mental acuity, a topic frequently discussed during his presidency. The Oversight Project, represented by Mike Howell, pursued these materials for over two years through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. They argue that the public should have access to the discussions that influenced Hur’s investigation.

Biden’s legal advisors aimed to restrict the tapes’ release, highlighting concerns about his reputation. Nonetheless, these efforts were unsuccessful, resulting in the revelation of long hours of Biden’s interviews. The recorded discussions support Robert Hur’s assessment in his report. Biden appeared unclear at times and struggled to recall various aspects of his past.

Joe Biden didn’t want these tapes to come out. But now they have,” asserted Jeff Clark, the Oversight Project’s Vice President of Litigation, to Fox News Digital.

The House Judiciary reported the availability of over two hours of these recordings. An investigation focused on Biden’s management of classified files dating back to his roles as vice president and senator. Special Counsel Hur chose not to prosecute, determining a lack of evidence of willful misconduct concerning these documents.

In his report, Hur pointed out Biden’s challenges with memory. He characterized Biden’s dialogue as “painfully slow” and stated that Biden had difficulty recalling events, even during his interviews with Hur in 2023.

Hur drew attention to Biden’s potential portrayal in court as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” rather than someone who intentionally mishandled classified information.

The interviews reveal moments of significant pauses, forgotten names, and difficulty in remembering specific events. For example, during a 2017 interview, Biden struggled to recall the names of economic advisers, illustrating his memory issues.

In one exchange, Biden described a Situation Room meeting, cautioning about possible classified details. He acknowledged uncertainty about whether some information was classified and advised caution in sharing it.

On April 24, 2017, Biden experienced difficulty remembering the names of advisors, ultimately needing assistance from his ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer. Biden expressed the need to write down names to mitigate his lapses in memory.

In another instance, Biden could not recall attending a specific event until he remembered it was a memorial for a service member, although he forgot some details of the event.

The response from his ghostwriter during these lapses was generally understanding. Despite these memory challenges, Biden attempted to correct himself or make notes for future reference.