Judge denies Biden’s bid to block release of transcripts linked to special counsel inquiry

A federal judge on Friday rejected former President Joe Biden's attempt to block the release of recordings he made with a ghostwriter to a conservative group, ruling that the public interest outweighs Biden's privacy claims. The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur during an investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents. The Trump administration authorized the release, and Biden had sued to stop it.

Getting your Trinity Audio //trinityaudio.ai player ready... By NICHOLAS RICCARDI A federal judge https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.265819/gov.uscourts.dcd.265819.78.0 3.pdf on Friday rejected former President Joe Biden’s attempt to block the Trump administration https://apnews.com/article/biden-justice-department-audio-lawsuit-hur-39bae657836b51a9497a57a85b7c9440 from releasing to a conservative group the recordings that Biden made with a ghostwriter. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich found that the public interest in the material outweighed whatever privacy rights Biden had. The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur in the course of his investigation into whether Biden improperly retained classified documents https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-michael-pence-us-federal-bureau-of-investigation-9c2d7f472b8ff63f76f2c9fbb03dfde2 while a senator and vice president. Republicans in Congress demanded them after Hur declined to file charges against the then-president. Biden’s Democratic administration refused to turn over the 2017 recordings and transcripts, leading congressional Republicans to hold his attorney general, Merrick Garland, in contempt https://apnews.com/article/garland-contempt-congress-vote-biden-classified-documents-20f5e8f48cfd8390eb695d13079ca306 . President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice authorized the release of the materials. That led Biden last month to sue to seek to block the release to a staffer at the conservative Heritage Foundation who had formally requested the records. Biden objected to the release as an invasion of privacy, saying the recordings included him discussing sensitive personal matters such as the death of his older son, Beau Biden. But Friedrich found that the administration redacted that material. The judge wrote that the materials “contain no mention of highly sensitive topics like illness or death, nor do they mention any non-public persons, including members of Biden’s family.” Representatives for Biden did not immediately comment but asked Friedrich to bar release of the material while they appeal her decision. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Friedrich was nominated by Trump, a Republican, in 2017.