Former US President Joe Biden filed a lawsuit on May 26, 2026, in federal court in Washington, DC, to prevent the Department of Justice from releasing audio recordings and transcripts of interviews he gave in 2016 and 2017 for his memoir "Promise Me, Dad" [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. The materials include private conversations between Biden and his memoir co-writer Mark Zwonitzer, conducted at Biden's home during a difficult personal and political period marked by his son Beau Biden’s battle with brain cancer [6, 7, 8]. Biden’s attorney Amy Jeffress said, "Every American, including a sitting or former Vice President, has a right to privacy in the personal conversations he has within his own home" [8].
The DOJ obtained the recordings and transcripts in 2023 during a special counsel investigation led by Robert Hur into Biden's handling of classified documents from his years as senator and vice president [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8]. Hur’s 345-page report raised questions about Biden’s cognitive state at age 81 but recommended no criminal charges due to insufficient evidence [3, 4, 5]. Some recordings showed Biden occasionally confused on dates and details as reported in the investigation documents [3, 4, 5].
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative group, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in 2024 seeking the materials, which the DOJ initially denied as exempt from release [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8]. The DOJ reversed its position during Donald Trump’s presidency and planned to release the recordings and transcripts on June 15, 2026, to Congress’s House Judiciary Committee and the Heritage Foundation [1, 2, 6, 7, 8]. The lawsuits call the proposed release a "pretextual" attempt to circumvent FOIA privacy protections and request a court order permanently barring disclosure [1, 2, 6, 8]. Biden’s lawyers argued, "The proposed disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of President Biden’s privacy" [1].
The case has drawn political criticism. Republicans say Biden is treated more leniently than former President Trump, while Democrats note Biden’s cooperation with the investigation versus Trump’s refusal to return classified materials [3, 4, 5]. Trump posted on Truth Social calling Biden "A Crooked Politician!!!" [7].
Unless the court blocks it, the DOJ plans to release the interview recordings and transcripts to the House Judiciary Committee and Heritage Foundation by June 15, 2026 [1, 2, 6, 7, 8].
