Biden Withdraws Lawsuit to Prevent Ghostwriter Interview Releases

WHO:

Fortune - Joe Biden, President Donald Trump, Mark Zwonitzer, Circuit Judge Florence Pan, D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Judge Gregory Katsas, special counsel Robert Hur, Heritage Foundation.

WHAT:

Fortune - Biden dropped a lawsuit aimed at blocking the release of audio recordings and transcripts of his interviews with a memoir ghostwriter.

Fortune - A divided panel of appeals court judges rejected Biden's bid to block the material's release.

ABC News Politics - Biden's attorneys filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit.

Fortune - The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden's handling of classified documents.

Fortune - Biden sought an injunction to prevent the Justice Department from releasing the recordings to Congress and the Heritage Foundation.

WHERE:

Fortune - The interviews took place at Biden's home in Delaware.

WHEN:

Fortune - The interviews with the ghostwriter occurred in 2016 and 2017.

Fortune - The appeals court panel issued a 2-1 ruling on a Monday.

Fortune - The panel suspended its decision until Aug. 3 to allow Biden to consider his appellate options.

Fortune - U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled in June that the public interest outweighed Biden's privacy rights.

WHY:

Fortune - Biden's lawyers argued that the conversations were candid, personal, and intended to remain private.

Fortune - The appeals court found a “substantial” public interest in disclosing the material.

HOW:

Fortune - Biden's legal team filed a lawsuit seeking to block the release of the recordings.

Fortune - The Justice Department argued that the recordings were exempt from disclosure under public records law.

(UPDATED July 25, 2026 22:15 UTC)

President Biden has dropped a lawsuit aimed at blocking the release of audio recordings and transcripts from his interviews with a memoir ghostwriter, following a divided ruling from a panel of appeals court judges that rejected his bid to keep the material private. The recordings, obtained by special counsel Robert Hur during an investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents, were deemed to have a substantial public interest, leading the court to suspend its decision until August 3 to give Biden time to consider his options. Biden's attorneys had argued that the conversations were candid and personal, but the court found that the public interest outweighed his privacy rights.