Biden’s ghostwriter talks closer to release after appeals court setback | Today’s news
A U.S. federal appeals court has rejected former President Joe Biden’s request to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of interviews he gave to its memoir author, saying the public interest in publication outweighed his remaining privacy concerns.
In a 2-1 decision issued late Monday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the material could be released, although it temporarily stayed its decision until Aug. 3 to give Biden time for another legal review.
The court says that the public interest outweighs privacy
The majority concluded that the redactions made to the tapes sufficiently protect Biden’s privacy while allowing the public access to material related to the high-profile federal investigation.
Quick answers to key questions
•5 QUESTIONS
An appeals court ruled that the public interest in the release of Biden’s audio recordings and transcripts outweighed his privacy concerns, allowing their impending release.
Biden has argued that the recordings made during private interviews for his memoir are confidential and should remain private, especially given their context in a federal investigation.
The tapes were obtained during former special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, which ultimately did not result in criminal charges.
Biden must decide whether to seek another legal review by Aug. 3, given the court’s current ruling in favor of releasing the tapes.
The ruling suggests a diminished expectation of privacy for Biden regarding the tapes, arguing that the redaction adequately protects his personal affairs while serving the public interest.
“We conclude that any remaining invasion of personal privacy by disclosure of the now-redacted materials is unlikely to outweigh the public interest in disclosure,” the court said in its decision.
The recordings come from interviews Biden gave in 2016 and 2017 to author Mark Zwonitzer, who collaborated with him on the memoirs Promises to Keep and Promise Me, Dad. The interviews took place at Biden’s home before he became president.
The dissenting judge supports Biden’s privacy claim
Judge Florence Pan, who was nominated to the appeals court by Biden, disagreed, arguing that the former president had a substantial privacy interest in keeping the recordings confidential.
“The conversations in question took place at Biden’s home and their recordings were obtained by the government in the course of a criminal investigation that did not lead to charges,” Pan wrote.
She added that denying Biden’s request for an injunction, pending an appeal, would effectively render the legal challenge moot once the tapes are released.
A spokesman for Biden criticizes the decision
Biden spokesman TJ Ducklo said the former president disagreed with the decision but respected the court process.
“President Biden’s interviews for a book ten years ago that discussed his late son are private and were released to the Justice Department on the condition that they remain so,” Ducklo said.
He accused the current administration of reversing its previous stance on the records.
“The change of course and their release is just the latest example of how this administration is arming the Justice Department for political retribution,” he added.
Recordings related to the investigation of classified documents
The tapes were obtained by former special counsel Robert Hur during an investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents from his time as a US senator and vice president.
Hur ultimately declined to press criminal charges against Biden, but his investigation prompted requests from congressional Republicans for interview materials.
Biden later sued to prevent the Trump administration’s Justice Department from releasing the tapes to Congress and the conservative Heritage Foundation. The department previously argued that the materials are exempt from disclosure under the federal Public Records Act.
The lower court’s decision was affirmed for the time being
The appeal followed a June ruling by U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who found that the public interest in the recordings outweighed Biden’s privacy claims.
The appeals panel’s latest ruling leaves that ruling in place, though Biden now has until August 3 to seek further relief before the tapes can be released.
Read also | Trump says US ‘not interested’ in talks with Iran
