Biden sues DOJ over release of memoir interview recordings

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:01]Former President Joe Biden is suing the Department of Justice in an attempt to block the release of transcripts and audio recordings from nearly a decade ago. Those files are of conversations between Biden and his ghostwriter for his memoir and are tied to a separate legal probe regarding whether Biden improperly handled classified documents, which he denies. ABC's Christian Cordderero has more from Washington.

[00:00:26]President Biden is suing the Department of Justice, demanding certain recordings and transcripts from a conversation he had with his ghost writer stay private.

[00:00:34]His attorneys argue they have just two and a half weeks until the DOJ releases those files to some members of Congress and conservative group the Heritage Foundation. The audio files are from interviews conducted in 2016 and 2017 between Biden and his ghostriter on his memoir. The former president's attorneys argue the conversations happened within his own home and that because they were obtained through a criminal investigation, the DOJ has a responsibility to keep them private. The DOJ obtained them as part of a special counsel's probe into whether Biden mishandled classified documents after his time as vice president. That probe ended in February 2024 while he was president. It found Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials and questioned his mental acuity, but recommended no criminal charges. A month later, the special counsel testified.

[00:01:25]>> I had to consider the president's memory and overall mental state and how a jury likely would perceive his memory and mental state in a criminal trial.

[00:01:34]>> Soon after, Biden invoked executive privilege to prevent those files from becoming public, drawing criticism from some Republicans. President Biden is apparently afraid for the citizens of this country and everyone to hear those tapes.

[00:01:48]>> President Trump, who has also sued the courts to try and block certain records from becoming public, today criticized Biden on social media, calling him quote a crooked politician. The Heritage Foundation previously requested the files through the Freedom of Information Act. Biden's attorneys argue those files are exempt from that law. Christian Cordio, ABC News, Washington.