Washington, DC – Former US President Joe Biden has filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice, seeking to prevent the Trump administration from releasing audio recordings
and transcripts of private interviews he conducted with a shadowy writer who was assisting him in writing his memoir.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, argues that releasing these materials violates the Department of Justice’s obligations to protect sensitive
and personal information related to law enforcement operations. It also deems the move “arbitrary and unlawful.”
Dispute over previous investigation materials
The disputed materials pertain to interviews conducted in 2016 and 2017 with author Marc Zvonitzer,
during the period following the death of Biden’s son.
At that time, Zvonitzer was considering Biden as a presidential candidate, according to the lawsuit.
These recordings were obtained during a 2023 investigation by Special Counsel Robert Hoar
into Biden’s handling of classified documents while serving as vice president.
According to the lawsuit, the Justice Department notified Biden of its intention
to turn the materials over to a congressional committee and a conservative think tank.
The department based its requests on public disclosure laws, allowing for limited redactions.
Accusations of politicizing the investigation
Biden’s lawyers say the decision represents a sudden reversal
from the Justice Department’s previous stance of refusing to release the recordings.
They also likened it to “releasing the personal diaries of an unconvicted defendant.”
The lawsuit states that the House Judiciary Committee is seeking the materials
as part of an investigation into what it calls the “politicization of the Justice Department.”
Biden, for his part, maintains that there is no clear legal justification for requesting these recordings.
Parts of the special counsel’s investigation recordings have previously been leaked.
These leaks have sparked a major political debate in the United States
regarding Biden handling of sensitive documents during his time in office.
