Appeals court rejects Biden’s bid to block release of recordings of ghostwriter interviews

Appeals court rejects Biden’s bid to block release of recordings of ghostwriter interviews 1 of 5 | President Joe Biden waits to speak about foreign policy at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) 2 of 5 | President Joe Biden speaks during a Department of Defense Commander in Chief farewell ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Jan. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) 3 of 5 | Former President Joe Biden looks out at the crowd during the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center, June 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File) 4 of 5 | FILE -President Joe Biden attends the Department of Defense Commander in Chief farewell ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Jan. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) 5 of 5 | President Joe Biden speaks at the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File ) 1 of 5 | President Joe Biden waits to speak about foreign policy at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) 1 of 5 President Joe Biden waits to speak about foreign policy at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | President Joe Biden speaks during a Department of Defense Commander in Chief farewell ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Jan. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) 2 of 5 President Joe Biden speaks during a Department of Defense Commander in Chief farewell ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Jan. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | Former President Joe Biden looks out at the crowd during the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center, June 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File) 3 of 5 Former President Joe Biden looks out at the crowd during the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center, June 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | FILE -President Joe Biden attends the Department of Defense Commander in Chief farewell ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Jan. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) 4 of 5 FILE -President Joe Biden attends the Department of Defense Commander in Chief farewell ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Jan. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | President Joe Biden speaks at the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File ) 5 of 5 President Joe Biden speaks at the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File ) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Washington (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected a request by Joe Biden to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of his interviews with a memoir ghostwriter before he was elected president.A divided three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit suspended its decision until Aug. 3 to allow more time for Biden to consider another appeal.The panel’s 2-1 ruling late Monday found there is a “substantial” public interest in disclosing the material that Biden wants to keep under wraps. Redactions to the recordings would help protect Biden’s privacy, the majority noted.“We conclude that any remaining incursion on personal privacy from disclosure of the now-redacted materials likely does not outweigh the public interest in disclosure,” the ruling says.Judge Florence Pan, who was nominated by Biden, a Democrat, wrote a dissenting opinion in which she said Biden has shown a “substantial privacy interest” in keeping the material hidden.“The conversations at issue took place in Biden’s home, and the recordings of them were obtained by the government in the course of a criminal investigation that did not lead to an indictment,” she wrote. The appeal also was heard by D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Gregory Katsas. Srinivasan was nominated by President Barack Obama, a Democrat who chose Biden as his vice president. Katsas was nominated by President Donald Trump, a Republican who lost to Biden in 2020 but was elected again to the White House in 2024. 4 MIN READ 4 MIN READ 4 MIN READ Mark Zwonitzer, who worked with Biden on two memoirs, 2007’s “Promises to Keep” and 2017’s “Promise Me, Dad,” interviewed him at his home in 2016 and 2017. Biden’s lawyers say the conversations were candid, personal and intended to remain private. The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents from his time as a senator from Delaware and as Obama’s vice president. Republicans in Congress demanded the material after Hur declined to file charges against the then-president.Biden sued and sought an injunction to prevent the Justice Department under Trump from releasing the recordings to Congress and the conservative Heritage Foundation. The department previously argued that the recordings were exempt from disclosure under public records law. Biden appealed after U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who was nominated by Trump, ruled in June that the public interest in the material outweighed whatever privacy rights Biden had.Pan noted that the majority is effectively ruling in favor of immediately disclosing the material by denying Biden’s request for an injunction pending appeal.“That, of course, will moot this case,” she wrote.