The Department of Justice (DOJ) informed a federal judge on Monday that it possesses transcripts of President Joe Biden’s discussions with his biographer, contradicting its earlier assertion. This revelation emerged as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) battle with the Heritage Foundation regarding materials from special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into the president.
The DOJ’s recent court filing discloses that it discovered transcripts of taped conversations between Biden and biographer Mark Zwonitzer. These discussions included classified information, a significant point in the ongoing probe. Last month, the DOJ claimed it did not have such transcripts, stating, “We don’t have some transcript that’s been created by the special counsel.”
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The discovery of these transcripts comes just a day after President Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.
According to Politico, the DOJ found “in the past few days” that Hur’s office had compiled transcripts for some of Biden’s talks with Zwonitzer. These discussions took place while Zwonitzer was working on Biden’s memoirs, published in 2007 and 2017.
DOJ Attorney Cameron Silverberg detailed the findings in the Monday court filing, noting the existence of six electronic files comprising 117 pages of verbatim transcripts. This discovery contrasts with Silverberg’s June 18 statement, where he claimed, “we don’t have some transcript that’s been created by the special counsel that we can attest to its accuracy.”
Since Hur released his report on Biden’s mishandling of classified documents in February, the DOJ has faced numerous FOIA requests from news outlets and conservative organizations. The report concluded that Biden should not be charged, partly because a jury might perceive him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” The DOJ has not released audio recordings of Biden’s October 2023 interviews with Hur, which reportedly show Biden struggling to recall specific years and events.
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Democrats and Biden allies have criticized Hur’s report, arguing that references to the president’s mental acuity were unnecessary and politically motivated. Following significant internal pressure from fellow Democrats, Biden ended his presidential campaign on Sunday. Concerns about his perceived frailty, especially after a poor debate performance in late June, were cited as reasons for his decision.
The DOJ has not yet responded to requests for comment.
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