A federal appeals court has ruled against former President Joe Biden, who was trying to stop the release of recorded conversations from when he was writing his 2017 book. The recordings are from private interviews Biden did with the person who helped him write it, Mark Zwonitzer, back in 2016 and 2017.
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Biden went to court to try to block the recordings from being released, but a lower court said no. Now a higher court has said no as well, making it even harder for Biden to keep these recordings hidden from the public.
From the Federalist:
“In a 2-1 ruling, a panel for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Biden’s emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal to prevent the disclosure of the records and audio of his 2016-2017 discussions with his writing partner Mark Zwonitzer while preparing his 2017 book. The majority was comprised of Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan (Obama appointee) and Judge Gregory Katsas (Trump appointee), while Judge Florence Pan (Biden appointee) dissented.”
“The central question on the merits is whether Biden is likely to succeed in showing that a FOIA exemption applies to the requested materials and that the Privacy Act thus bars their disclosure. While the requested recordings were not government records when originally created by Zwonitzer and Biden in connection with the preparation of Biden’s 2017 memoir, it is undisputed that they became subject to FOIA’s disclosure mandate when the Special Counsel obtained possession of them as part of his investigation,” the court ruled.
“We accordingly conclude that Biden has not shown a likelihood that the requested materials must be withheld from disclosure,” the majority wrote.
These recordings were picked up by Special Counsel Robert Hur when he was looking into whether Biden mishandled classified documents. Hur chose not to charge Biden, saying he came across as a kind, forgetful old man that a jury would have a hard time convicting.
In 2023, the Heritage Foundation filed a formal request to get access to the recordings. The Biden administration refused, using legal exemptions to keep them locked away from the public.
When the Trump administration came in, they flipped the decision and agreed to hand the recordings over — with some parts blacked out — to the Heritage Foundation and the House Judiciary Committee. That is when Biden went to court to try to stop it.
One judge did disagree with the ruling. Judge Florence Pan, who was appointed by Biden, felt the court moved too fast and should have looked at all the factors more carefully before deciding. Biden now has until August 3rd to decide if he wants to try appealing one more time.
The American people deserve to know the truth about those who have led this country. We pray that the light would continue to shine on what has been hidden, that justice would be done, and that no one — no matter how powerful — would be above accountability. May God give our courts wisdom and may the truth always find its way out.
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(Excerpt from the Federalist. Photo Credit: 1620px-Joe_Biden_48650677373_475x385_acf_cropped)
