A federal judge ruled Friday that the Department of Justice may provide redacted versions of former President Joe Biden’s conversations with his ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, to the conservative Heritage Foundation.
However, the judge also issued a temporary stay, giving time for a possible appeal before the materials are released.
Heritage Foundation Lawsuit Involved FOIA Request
Biden had intervened in a lawsuit filed by the Heritage Foundation over a Freedom of Information Act request. The group sought records connected to former special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents after leaving the vice presidency.
Hur concluded his investigation without recommending criminal charges against Biden, even though his report said there was evidence that Biden had willfully retained classified materials.
Judge Says Public Interest Is Significant
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said the information carried strong public interest. After personally reviewing the materials, she found that the DOJ’s redactions weakened Biden’s argument that releasing them would violate his privacy.
In her ruling, Friedrich wrote that while the privacy concerns were meaningful, they were reduced by the department’s broad redactions, which the court reviewed privately.
She also noted that, in their redacted form, the Zwonitzer materials do not include information about Biden’s family or other private individuals.
Temporary Stay Gives Appeals Court Time
Immediately after issuing the decision, Friedrich ordered a temporary stay lasting three weeks. The pause is intended to give the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit time to decide whether to issue an injunction while an appeal is considered.
A spokesperson for former President Biden declined to comment to ABC News about the ruling or the temporary stay.
Biden Separately Sued DOJ Over Memoir Interview Materials
In a separate legal action last month, Biden sued the Justice Department in an attempt to block the release of recordings and transcripts from interviews he gave for his memoir. Those interviews became central to Hur’s classified documents investigation.
The recordings and transcripts came from Biden’s conversations with Zwonitzer for his 2017 memoir, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.
Judge Dabney Friedrich’s ruling clears the way for the DOJ to release redacted versions of Biden’s ghostwriter conversations to the Heritage Foundation, though a three-week stay gives time for a possible appeal. The case remains tied to public interest in Robert Hur’s classified documents investigation, Biden’s privacy claims, and ongoing legal disputes over records from his memoir interviews.