Recordings of Joe Biden speaking with his memoir ghostwriter have been released after a lengthy legal fight, capturing Biden warning at one point that “some of this may be classified” and later stating, “this is classified.”
The more than 70 hours of 2016 and 2017 conversations with Mark Zwonitzer, obtained during special counsel Robert Hur’s classified documents probe, were published by the Oversight Project. Biden’s attorneys spent months trying to block the release before abandoning their lawsuit; a judge accepted the dismissal Monday.
In one exchange Biden tells Zwonitzer: “Some of this may be classified … So, be careful. I’m not sure … It’s not marked classified but —” At another point he says, “The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified …”
The tapes also show Biden frequently pausing, speaking haltingly and struggling to recall events, details that align with Hur’s earlier description of Biden’s memory.
Oversight Project Vice President of Litigation Jeff Clark said the recordings should force a full reexamination of the decision to give Biden a pass for keeping and disclosing classified information.
