A federal appellate court in Washington, DC, has ruled that the public’s interest in recordings of Joe Biden discussing his political experiences from 2016 and 2017 surpasses his privacy claims.
The ruling, made by a 2-1 majority in the DC US Circuit Court of Appeals, paves the way for the potential release of the tapes, which are being pursued by the Heritage Foundation and House Republicans who argue they could reveal Biden’s cognitive decline prior to his presidency.
“The remaining intrusion on personal privacy from the release of the now-redacted materials is unlikely to outweigh the public’s interest in their disclosure,” the court stated late Monday.
However, neither the Heritage Foundation nor the House will gain access to the tapes right away, as Biden continues to contest the ruling in court. The court has paused its decision to give Biden an opportunity to appeal if he wishes.
An attorney representing Biden did not respond promptly to USdaily’s requests for comments.
Biden may explore further appeals, but the chances of success appear slim. The recordings feature Biden conversing with his ghostwriter for his memoir, “Promise Me, Dad,” which is currently under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department.
After Biden’s presidency ended and Donald Trump took office, the Justice Department opted to no longer contest the release of the tapes to the public or Congress, prompting Biden to initiate legal action.
The Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning legal advocacy group, has expressed its desire to access the recordings to bring clarity to a criminal investigation concerning Biden that concluded without any charges, as well as to address concerns about his health over recent years, particularly during this election cycle.
The organization contended that the recordings should be considered public records since they were acquired by former Justice Department special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated whether Biden improperly shared classified information with the ghostwriter.
The DC Circuit largely concurred on Tuesday that these are indeed government records and should be made available to the public.
“The public’s interest in the release of the requested materials is considerable,” remarked the appeals panel, comprised of Judges Sri Srinivasan and Gregory Katsas.
“The public has a ‘weighty’ and ‘significant’ interest in ‘illuminating’ the Special Counsel’s investigation concerning a former Vice President for purported mishandling and disclosure of classified information,” the judges added, referencing language from previous legal rulings.
“When a highly publicized investigation of a notable public figure concludes without charges, the public possesses a strong interest in assessing ‘whether the government had evidence but chose not to act,’” they further stated. (Srinivasan was appointed by former President Barack Obama, while Katsas was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term.)
Appellate Judge Florence Pan expressed her dissent regarding the court’s decision. She argued that the conversations raised “significant” privacy concerns, as Biden’s discussions with the ghostwriter occurred in his residence, and noted that he was never accused of a crime.
“Although the discussions were with an author assisting Biden in writing his memoir, Biden likely had editorial oversight over the book’s content and could determine what information would eventually be public — he did not anticipate that recordings or transcripts of extensive private conversations would be released against his wishes,” wrote Pan, a Biden appointee.
