Biden's classified docs narrative crumbles amid release of ghostwriter tapes: 'Be careful'

Former President Joe Biden's recordings from interviews with his memoir ghostwriter — obtained during special counsel Robert Hur's classified documents investigation — have been released to the public.

After a months-long fight from Biden’s attorneys to block the release of the tape, they abandoned their lawsuit calling for a dismissal Friday, in which a judge accepted Monday.

The plaintiff, Mike Howell formerly with conservative think tank Heritage Foundation and now at Oversight Project, has fought for more than two years to obtain the materials through FOIA requests, arguing that the public has an interest in reviewing the recordings and transcripts on which Hur based his decision.

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The Oversight Project published hours of recordings from Biden's 2016 and 2017 conversations with his "Promise Me, Dad" ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, in which the then-former vice president frequently pauses, speaks haltingly and struggles to recall events — reinforcing Special Counsel Robert Hur's characterization in his report.

"Joe Biden didn’t want these tapes to come out. But now they have — after two years of painful delay. There is no joy in Bidenville today. Robert Hur’s and Merrick Garland’s decision to give Biden a free pass for keeping and disclosing classified information must now be reexamined from top to bottom," Oversight Project Vice President of Litigation Jeff Clark exclusively told Fox News Digital.

The House Judiciary Committee announced there were 2 hours and 45 minutes of recordings released. 

Hur investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents dating from his time as vice president in the Obama administration and as a U.S. senator from Delaware. He declined to pursue criminal charges because he concluded prosecutors could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Biden willfully retained or disclosed the material.

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In his report, Hur wrote that Biden’s conversations were "painfully slow" and said Biden was "struggling to remember events and straining at times to read and relay his own notebook entries."

"Mr. Biden's memory was significantly limited, both during his recorded interviews with the ghostwriter in 2017 and in his interview with our office in 2023," wrote Hur.

He also said, in shocking reasoning for the lack of prosecution, that Biden could appear to a jury as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" rather than an intentional violator of classified document laws.

The interview recordings show instances where Biden takes long pauses, forgets names, and can't recall specific days. 

Biden warned Zwonitzer while discussing a 2014 Situation Room meeting, "Some of this may be classified, so be careful," and added, "I'm not sure. It isn't marked classified, but...."

In one instance, on April 24, 2017, Biden struggled to recall two economic advisers.

 "I’ll think of his name," said Biden, and then, "I should write the names down because I keep forgetting them." A long pause follows before Zwonitzer says Alan Krueger’s name.

On the same day, Biden fails to recall where he was on a certain date, later remembering he was at a memorial for a fallen service member – and forgot his name.

"I think I went to that memorial service in Wilmington. It says [REDACTED] December the 4th, but I don't -- I know what this means. Memorial service -- [REDACTED] gets names really f---ed up," said Biden. "So it says memorial service for [REDACTED]. I don't think her name was [REDACTED]. Or I forget [REDACTED]."

Zwonitzer responded, "Okay," and Biden said he would "make a note of that too."

"But at any rate, back to -- there was -- I had a meeting with Ron Klain, and I don't know when," Biden added. 

Biden also appeared to struggle in recalling a lunch with former United States Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers.

"When he, when he came to me — and I’ll get the date. Remind me when did Summers come to me to have lunch to — it was when I was thinking about running."

He later goes on to say, "Here’s what happened, before I forget. Don’t mind my train of thought. He also pledged to support me in 2016."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Office of Joe Biden for comment.