Biden tapes released after court fight include classified-material warnings

The Biden tapes released after a two-year legal fight include roughly 70 hours of audio from former President Joe Biden’s work with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer on his 2017 memoir, CBS News reported.

The recordings were cited in special counsel Robert Hur’s 2024 report on Biden’s handling of classified documents. Hur’s investigation began after documents marked classified from Biden’s time as vice president were found at his home and private office. Hur did not recommend criminal charges.

In one recording, Biden tells Zwonitzer, “Some of this may be classified,” and adds that the material was not marked classified, according to CBS News. In another moment, Biden says, “The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified.”

The audio was made while Biden and Zwonitzer were working on “Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.” CBS News reported that no classified material was alleged to have appeared in the published book.

Why were the Biden tapes released?

The recordings came out after litigation brought by the Oversight Project, a conservative nonprofit that says it works to expose corruption in government. The group sued in federal court in Washington, D.C., after the Biden administration’s Justice Department did not provide the records within a month of a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Heritage Foundation, its sister nonprofit, CBS News reported.

The request sought records Hur relied on when writing about Biden’s memory and mental faculties. Jeff Clark, the Oversight Project’s vice president of litigation, told CBS News that after President Trump took office, the Justice Department agreed to turn over the files.

Biden’s lawyers then joined the case and blocked disclosure until a federal appeals court ruled against Biden on July 20, according to CBS News. The Oversight Project called the ruling a “complete and total victory.”

What did Hur say about the recordings?

Hur’s report said Biden kept notebooks at home that included classified information. The report also said Biden, then 75, showed Zwonitzer classified notes from a National Security Council meeting during the Obama administration.

Hur wrote that prosecutors would be unlikely to win a conviction. One reason he gave was that a jury might view Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

The report described Biden’s 2017 conversations with Zwonitzer as slow at times and said Biden struggled to remember events and read from notebook entries. On the newly released recordings, CBS News reported that Biden speaks haltingly in some places, though signs of memory problems during that period are subtle if present.

At one point, according to CBS News, Biden appears to lose his train of thought, saying, “Alright — what was I going to ask you? Something else… Uh… um. Oh gosh. I can’t think of anything else.”

What has Biden said?

CBS News said it contacted an attorney for Biden about the recordings. After Hur’s report was released, Biden told reporters, “I did not share classified information. I did not share it with my ghostwriter.” He also said he did not know how boxes containing classified documents ended up in his garage.

The recordings also include Biden referring to potentially classified meetings, including sessions involving the CIA, the Situation Room, the Defense Department and the president, CBS News reported. In an Oct. 10, 2016 recording, Biden said he had extensive notes from that period and said, “They didn’t know I have this.”

In other recordings, Biden appears more careful. CBS News reported that on Nov. 3, 2016, while still vice president, he referred to the “non-classified part” of a discussion with the president.

Biden received an $8 million advance for his 2017 memoir, according to CBS News. He is planning a sequel, “Promise Me, America,” for November, covering his presidency, his 2024 reelection campaign and his decision to step aside.

This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.