Key facts
- Audio recordings of President Joe Biden discussing classified material after leaving office have been released by House Republicans.
- In one recording from February 2017, Biden states, 'I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.'
- The tapes were made during the drafting of Biden's 2017 memoir, 'Promise Me, Dad', with co-writer Mark Zwonitzer.
- Special Counsel Robert Hur obtained the recordings as part of his investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.
- Republicans allege the redactions on the tapes are intended to conceal Biden's disclosure of classified information.
Audio recordings in which President Joe Biden appears to discuss classified information with his memoir ghostwriter have been released by House Republicans. The recordings, made in 2016 and 2017 during the drafting of his memoir 'Promise Me, Dad' with co-writer Mark Zwonitzer, were obtained by Special Counsel Robert Hur as part of his investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.
In one segment, Biden is heard saying, 'I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.' Another recording from October 2016 has him telling Zwonitzer, 'The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified.' The Oversight Project, a conservative group, released approximately three hours of audio and 117 pages of partially redacted transcripts after a legal battle.
Republicans allege that the redactions on the released recordings are intended to conceal Biden's disclosure of classified information. Special Counsel Robert Hur's investigation concluded that Biden improperly retained records but did not recommend charges, citing concerns that a jury might view him as 'a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.' Biden's spokesman, TJ Ducklo, criticized the release as politically motivated and "weaponizing the DOJ for political retribution."