Biden Moves to Block Release of 2016–2017 Audio as June Deadline Approaches

May 27, 2026

Mintesinot Nigussie

A planned disclosure by the U.S. Department of Justice of audio recordings and transcripts involving former president Joe Biden has set up a legal clash in Washington, with the materials scheduled for release on June 15 to the House Judiciary Committee and the conservative Heritage Foundation.

The recordings, made in 2016 and 2017 at Biden’s home during conversations with his biographer, were used in the context of then-special counsel investigations into his handling of classified documents.

Biden has now filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking to block the release entirely, arguing that the planned disclosure should not proceed to either congressional or private recipients.

The Department of Justice previously resisted efforts by the Heritage Foundation in 2024 to obtain the materials under the Freedom of Information Act. That position shifted after President Donald Trump took office.

Central to Biden’s legal challenge is the argument that the House Judiciary Committee’s request is being used as a procedural pathway to enable disclosure that would otherwise be barred.

The materials in question relate to Biden’s memoir, “Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose,” which was published in 2017.