Recently released audio tapes, disclosed by a conservative activist group, reveal President Joe Biden discussing sensitive classified information with a biographer. These tapes are raising questions about the handling of classified materials and Biden’s cognitive fitness, especially in the context of his memory lapses during interviews leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
The Oversight Project, a division of the Heritage Foundation, released approximately three hours of audio recordings and 117 pages of transcripts, many of which are heavily redacted. This release followed a prolonged legal battle where Biden attempted to keep his conversations with memoir ghostwriter Mark Lewis Zwonitzer private. Ultimately, the courts ruled in favor of releasing the material.
In an October 2016 conversation, Biden stated, “They didn’t even know I had this,” as he discussed sensitive foreign policy matters from his tenure as vice president under Barack Obama. The tapes suggest that Biden may have retained classified information even after leaving office.
In a session recorded in 2017, after his vice presidency and prior to launching his own presidential campaign, Biden appeared to acknowledge keeping classified documents. He mentioned, “I just found all the classified stuff downstairs,” while reflecting on a 40-page memorandum he had written regarding troop deployments to Afghanistan.
While the tapes contain potentially classified information, much of it remains redacted in the released material. The right-wing group pursued this information after Special Counsel Robert Hur concluded in 2024 that Biden would not be charged for mishandling classified information, citing Biden’s cooperation throughout the inquiry.
Hur’s decision to not charge Biden has stirred public debate regarding Biden’s age and cognitive capabilities, particularly after he was described as a “sympathetic figure” due to his “poor memory.” At the time of the interviews, Biden was 74 years old, and he was 81 when Hur released the findings.
Critics, including the Oversight Project’s Vice President of Litigation Jeff Clark, argue that the tapes highlight Biden’s cognitive decline. Clark stated, “The tapes have always belonged to the American People, the Oversight Project just delivered them to their rightful owner.”
In response, a Biden spokesman criticized the release as politically motivated. TJ Ducklo stated, “President Biden’s conversations for a book a decade ago that discussed his late son are private, and were provided to the Department of Justice on the express condition they stay that way.”
Biden’s legal team initially sought an injunction to prevent the Department of Justice from releasing the tapes but dropped the suit after an appeals court ruled that there was significant public interest in the disclosure of this material.
As the political landscape continues to evolve, these tapes are likely to remain a focal point in discussions surrounding Biden’s presidency, his handling of classified information, and ongoing concerns regarding his cognitive health.
