Audio tapes appear to show Biden discussing sensitive information with memoir ghostwriter

By — Bill Barrow, Associated Press Bill Barrow, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/audio-tapes-appear-to-show-biden-discussing-sensitive-information-with-memoir-ghostwriter Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio tapes appear to show Biden discussing sensitive information with memoir ghostwriter Politics Jul 28, 2026 1:01 PM EDT Newly released audio tapes, disclosed by a conservative activist group, appear to show Joe Biden sharing classified information with a biographer and sometimes claiming memory lapses during interviews that occurred before his election to the presidency in 2020. About three hours of audio and 117 pages of transcripts — with many redactions — were released by the Oversight Project, an arm of the Heritage Foundation, after Biden lost a prolonged legal fight to keep his conversations with his memoir ghostwriter, Mark Lewis Zwonitzer, private. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. "They didn't even know I had this," Biden told Zwonitzer in October 2016, near the end of his second term as Barack Obama's vice president, as he talked about sensitive foreign policy matters handled by the administration. In one 2017 session, after Biden had left the West Wing and before he'd launched his own presidential campaign, he appeared to admit retaining classified information from his time as vice president. "I just found all the classified stuff downstairs," Biden said. "I wrote the President a handwritten 40-page memorandum arguing against deploying additional troops to Iraq -- I mean, to Afghanistan on the grounds that it wouldn't matter, that the day we left would be like the day before we arrived." The potentially classified information itself is redacted in both the audio and transcripts that the Oversight Project released. The right-wing group first sued to obtain the tapes after Special Counsel Robert Hur decided in 2024 not to charge Biden for how he handled classified information. Biden cooperated with Hur's inquiry and told the special prosecutor during his presidency that he did not intentionally mishandle any classified material. Hur, who obtained the tapes as part of his inquiry, said in announcing his decision that he believed a jury would find Biden a sympathetic figure because of his age and what Hur described as a "poor memory" — a statement that became a flashpoint in public debate about Biden's age and fitness for the presidency. Biden was 74 when the interviews began. He was 81 and seeking reelection when Hur released his report in early 2024, though Biden later ended his campaign for a second term after a halting debate performance against Republican Donald Trump. READ MORE: Biden will publish 'Promise Me, America' memoir after the November midterm elections The tapes contain instances of Biden being unable to recall some dates and details