Judge blocks DOJ from releasing Biden biographer recordings

A federal judge on Friday told the U.S. Department of Justice it cannot release a transcript and recording of former President Joe Biden and his biographer's conversations, at least for three weeks.

U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich earlier in the day denied Biden's request for an injunction. She nonetheless told the department to wait three weeks for the release as his lawyers file an appeal, ABC News and CBS News reported.

Redacted versions of a transcript and recording of conversations between Biden and the ghostwriter of his biography, Mark Zwonitzer, were set for release by the Justice Department on Friday afternoon after Friedrich's initial ruling.

The recordings had been set for release to the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, which filed a Freedom of Information Act request in 2024 based on reports of Biden's handling of sensitive and secret government records during the years between serving as vice president to President Barack Obama and being elected to the White House.

"Biden has not identified any public harm that would arise absent an injunction in this case," Friedrich wrote in her decision.

"The harm to Biden's diminished privacy interest is outweighed by the public's interest in the Zwonitzer materials and FOIA's 'policy of broad disclosure of Government documents in order to ensure an informed citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic society,'" she wrote.

Biden's attorneys argued that the conversations for his book were not intended for release and that the public's only interest stems from the government records case, which investigators referred to in their report.

Biden was not charged or alleged of any wrongdoing after the investigation. While evidence suggested he "willfully retained and disclosed classified material," investigators said his guilt could not be fully established for a successful prosecution.