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Former US president Biden sues DOJ over release of interview audio

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Former US President Joe Biden is suing the Department of Justice to prevent the release of audio recordings from his 2016-2017 interviews with his biographer.
  • The recordings are slated for release on June 15 to the US House Judiciary Committee and the Heritage Foundation, following their use in the Special Counsel Robert Hur investigation.
  • Biden's team argues the release is politically motivated and serves no public interest, while the DOJ spokesperson stated they aim to show the American people Biden's cognitive state.

Former US President Joe Biden has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, seeking to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts from private conversations with his biographer in 2016 and 2017. The legal action comes ahead of a planned June 15 release of these materials to the US House Judiciary Committee and the conservative Heritage Foundation.

The recordings were initially used in Special Counsel Robert Hur's investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents, an investigation that did not result in criminal charges. The lawsuit claims the Department of Justice fought the Heritage Foundation's request for the records, deeming them exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, until President Donald Trump took office. The department then announced it would release them in response to the committee's request, which Biden's suit alleges is an attempt to circumvent federal law.

We will fight to ensure the American people can hear these recordings and draw their own conclusions about the former President’s mental acuity before he sought the presidency.

— Department of Justice spokespersonThe DOJ's stated intention regarding the release of Biden's interview recordings.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice stated that the department, during the Biden administration, attempted to withhold recordings that indicated a decline in Biden's cognitive abilities as early as 2016. "We will fight to ensure the American people can hear these recordings and draw their own conclusions about the former President’s mental acuity before he sought the presidency," the spokesperson said.

However, TJ Ducklo, a spokesperson for Biden, countered that the former president cooperated with Hur's investigation and provided the tapes under the condition they would not be made public. Ducklo asserted that the DOJ itself has acknowledged the tapes serve no public interest and that the current push for their release is political, not about transparency. The recordings were made at Biden's home as part of the process for his 2017 memoir, "Promise Me, Dad."

The DOJ themselves have said these tapes serve no public interest. What's happening now isn't about transparency. It's about politics.

— TJ DuckloBiden's spokesperson criticizing the motivation behind the planned release of the recordings.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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