'I just found all the classified stuff downstairs' - Biden to ghostwriter
Recordings between Biden and his ghostwriter reveal references to classified information and memory gaps.
"I just found all the classified stuff downstairs," President Biden told his ghostwriter, according to audio recordings recently made public by congressional Republicans. The tapes capture Biden, 83, acknowledging his possession of classified materials after his tenure as US vice-president, a fact he had sought to keep private for years.
The recordings feature interviews between Biden and the ghostwriter for his 2017 memoir, "Promise Me, Dad." In one segment from February 2017, just a month after leaving the White House, Biden is heard stating, "I just found all the classified stuff downstairs."
House Republicans, alongside the conservative nonprofit Oversight Project, initiated legal action to obtain these tapes. The recordings were subsequently provided for a 2024 Justice Department investigation into Biden's handling of official records.
TJ Ducklo, a spokesperson for Biden, issued a statement condemning the release of the tapes, calling it "just the latest example of this Administration weaponizing the DOJ for political retribution." He added, "It's wrong, and while President Biden disagrees with today's decision, he also respects the courts and the vital role an independent judiciary plays in a healthy democracy."
The audio was captured during the creation of the 2017 memoir, co-authored by Biden and Mark Zwonitzer. In over two hours of tapes released on Monday, Biden is heard telling Zwonitzer at one point, "The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified." In an October 2016 recording, while still serving as Vice-President under Barack Obama, Biden informed Zwonitzer, "I have extensive notes over this period of time… They [the White House] didn't know I have this."
During Biden's presidential term from 2021-25, the Justice Department had declined to release these audio tapes. In May, his personal attorneys filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department to prevent their release, but they ultimately dropped the suit after facing legal setbacks.
The released recordings contain significant redactions, which Republicans on the House Oversight Committee claim "are intended to cover [Biden's] disclosure of classified information."
In 2024, Special Counsel Robert Hur obtained these recordings and transcripts as part of his investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents. Hur concluded that Biden had improperly retained records but chose not to recommend charges. This decision was partly influenced by concerns that a jury might sympathize with Biden, perceiving him as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
In a separate case, Donald Trump faced charges for illegally retaining documents at his Florida residence, though these charges were dropped after his return to the White House.