Justice Department barred from releasing audio files
A federal judge on Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to wait at least three weeks before releasing redacted transcripts and recordings of conversations between former President Joe Biden and his biographer.
The ruling was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, according to reports from ABC News and CBS News cited in source context.
Timeline of the Friday rulings
Judge Friedrich initially denied a request for an injunction filed earlier on June 19, 2026, by former President Biden's legal team. The redacted versions were scheduled to be released that afternoon following this initial denial.
However, Judge Friedrich subsequently ordered the Department of Justice not to release the materials immediately. She directed the agency to wait while lawyers for the former president file an appeal regarding whether the documents should be made public right away.
The Heritage Foundation request
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed in 2024 by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. The filing cited reports concerning how former President Biden handled sensitive and secret government records during the period between his service as vice president under Barack Obama and his election to the White House.
Details of the recordings
The materials involve conversations between former President Joe Biden and Mark Zwonitzer, who served as the ghostwriter for his biography. The Department of Justice had prepared redacted versions of these transcripts and audio files for public release on Friday afternoon before Judge Friedrich's second order.
Appeal status
The ruling barring immediate release is pending an appeal regarding whether the materials should be released immediately, according to reports from ABC News and CBS News cited in source context. The Department of Justice must wait three weeks for this process to conclude before releasing the documents.