A federal judge on Friday rejected former President Joe Biden's attempt to block the Trump administration from releasing to a conservative group the recordings that Biden made with a ghostwriter.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich found that the public interest in the material outweighed whatever privacy rights Biden had.
The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur in the course of his investigation into whether Biden improperly retained classified documents while a senator and vice president. Republicans in Congress demanded them after Hur declined to file charges against the then-president.
Biden's Democratic administration refused to turn over the 2017 recordings and transcripts, leading congressional Republicans to hold his attorney general, Merrick Garland, in contempt.
President Donald Trump's Department of Justice authorized the release of the materials. That led Biden last month to sue to seek to block the release to a staffer at the conservative Heritage Foundation who had formally requested the records.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich found that the public interest in the material outweighed whatever privacy rights Biden had.
The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur in the course of his investigation into whether Biden improperly retained classified documents while a senator and vice president. Republicans in Congress demanded them after Hur declined to file charges against the then-president.
Biden's Democratic administration refused to turn over the 2017 recordings and transcripts, leading congressional Republicans to hold his attorney general, Merrick Garland, in contempt.
President Donald Trump's Department of Justice authorized the release of the materials. That led Biden last month to sue to seek to block the release to a staffer at the conservative Heritage Foundation who had formally requested the records.
4 months ago
