A US appeals court panel has allowed the release of recordings of former president Joe Biden’s conversations with his memoir ghostwriter, finding that public interest in understanding Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation outweighed Biden’s privacy claims. The article argues that the Trump Justice Department’s reversal in favour of disclosure could weaken its position in separate efforts to keep Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Mar-a-Lago report confidential.

The Heritage Foundation sought roughly 70 hours of recordings and transcripts through freedom-of-information litigation; the panel stayed disclosure until 3 August to allow a possible Supreme Court appeal. Hur used the recovered recordings while investigating Biden’s handling of classified documents and ultimately brought no charges. A dissenting judge considered disclosure less justified, while separate litigation over Smith’s report remains under appeal in Florida.