Former President Joe Biden suffered a judicial setback after a federal appeals court rejected his request to prevent the Department of Justice (DOJ) from turning over transcripts and audio recordings of conversations he had almost a decade ago with his biographer, Mark Zwonitzer. However, the court decided to temporarily suspend the delivery of the material until August 3, in order to give time for new appeals.

According to CBS News, the decision was issued by a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which ruled, by a majority of two votes to one, that Biden did not demonstrate that the documents should remain confidential.

The court prioritizes the public interest

In the majority opinion, Justices Sri Srinivasan and Gregory Katsas concluded that the potential impact on the former president's privacy does not outweigh the public interest in knowing the material used during former special counsel Robert Hur's investigation into the handling of classified documents.

“We conclude that Biden has not demonstrated the likelihood that the requested materials should be kept confidential,” the justices noted.

The judges added that the recordings could help the public understand how the investigation unfolded and why the special prosecutor made the decision not to file charges.

Biden insists on protecting your privacy

Judge Florence Pan issued a dissenting vote, warning that the ruling opens the door to premature disclosure of private conversations obtained during a criminal investigation that did not result in indictments.

For his part, TJ Ducklo, Biden's spokesman, criticized the ruling and assured that the conversations were delivered to the government with the understanding that they would remain confidential.

“President Biden disagrees with today's decision, but respects the courts and the critical role an independent judiciary plays,” Ducklo said.

The recordings were made between 2016 and 2017 for the preparation of the book “Promise Me, Dad”. Years later, the Heritage Foundation requested access to the material through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), arguing that it was relevant to evaluating the conclusions of the report prepared by Robert Hur.

While the appeals continue, the court will keep the delivery of the audios suspended until early August.

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