Overview
- Biden’s attorneys filed a notice of voluntary dismissal on Friday, ending his active appeal after a divided D.C. Circuit panel rejected his bid to keep the materials private.
- The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that the public interest in disclosure outweighs Biden’s privacy claims, with Judges Sri Srinivasan and Gregory Katsas in the majority and Judge Florence Pan dissenting.
- The recordings and transcripts were created during 2016–2017 memoir interviews with Mark Zwonitzer and were obtained by Special Counsel Robert Hur during his classified-documents probe, which concluded without criminal charges in 2024.
- The dismissal clears the way for redacted files to be turned over to the House Judiciary Committee and the Heritage Foundation, though the scope of redactions and the timing of release remain to be set and could prompt further legal or political responses.
- Reporters have noted that Zwonitzer told investigators he deleted some audio in 2023, a fact that affects the completeness of the record and that lawmakers may use the released material in oversight and public debate about Biden’s handling of classified information.