Former President Joe Biden has dropped his lawsuit seeking to block the public release of audio recordings from interviews he gave to the ghostwriter of his memoirs, clearing the way for the material to be released to a Republican-led House committee.
Biden's attorneys filed a notice of voluntary dismissal July 25 in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, days after a divided federal appeals court rejected his request to keep the recordings and transcripts private, according to reports from The Hill and NBC4 Washington.
The filing ends Biden's legal challenge after the court ruled there is a substantial public interest in disclosure.
The decision follows months of litigation over recordings that were obtained during Special Counsel Robert Hur's
investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents. Hur declined to bring criminal charges against Biden in 2024, but Republicans later sought access to the interview materials.
Biden's legal team had argued the recordings captured private conversations in his home and that releasing them would amount to an unwarranted invasion of his privacy. Instead of pursuing additional appeals, including a possible request to the Supreme Court, Biden chose to dismiss the case.
Appeals court sides with disclosure
The voluntary dismissal came less than a week after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 against Biden.
In the majority opinion, Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Gregory Katsas concluded that any remaining privacy concerns did not outweigh the public's interest in releasing the redacted materials.
"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 judges wrote.
Judge Florence Pan dissented, writing that Biden had demonstrated a "substantial privacy interest" because the conversations occurred in his home and were obtained during a criminal investigation that did not result in an indictment.
Recordings stem from memoir interviews
The recordings come from interviews Biden gave to ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer in 2016 and 2017 while working on his memoir, "Promise Me, Dad." Zwonitzer also collaborated with Biden on his 2007 memoir, "Promises to Keep."
Federal investigators later obtained the recordings during Hur's investigation into Biden's retention of classified documents from his time as a senator and vice president. Although Hur declined to file charges, Republicans in Congress sought the materials after the investigation concluded.
Legal battle over FOIA request
The case began after the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, sought the recordings through the Freedom of Information Act and later sued to obtain their release.
In June, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that Biden's privacy interests, while legitimate, were outweighed by the public interest in government transparency. She also found that Justice Department redactions adequately protected sensitive personal information.
Biden appealed that ruling, which temporarily blocked the release while the case moved through the courts. Friday's dismissal ends that appeal, allowing the recordings and transcripts to be turned over under the court's order.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden drops lawsuit over release of audio from memoir interviews
