Biden told ghostwriter he kept ‘classified stuff downstairs’ in newly released tapes
The bombshell revelation comes as Republicans release audio recordings of the president working on his memoir - which he fought hard to keep private
Joe Biden told his ghostwriter he kept “all the classified stuff downstairs”; in newly released audio recordings that the former president fought hard for years to keep private.
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The tapes, which were released by Republicans in Congress, show the former vice-president acknowledging that he possessed classified material after leaving office as US vice-president.
The audio was recorded while Biden, now 83, was working with co-writer Mark Zwonitzer on his 2017 memoir, Promise Me, Dad.
At one point in the audio, Biden can be heard saying, "I just found all the classified stuff downstairs”, a month after leaving the White House.
In 2024, a US Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel found that Biden had improperly retained records but did not recommend charging him.
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House Republicans and a conservative nonprofit, the Oversight Project, sued for the recordings as part of an investigation into Biden's handling of the records.
Biden’s spokesperson, TJ Ducklo, hit back at the release of the tapes under Donald Trump, branding it "just the latest example of this Administration weaponising the DOJ for political retribution".
"It's wrong, and while President Biden disagrees with today's decision, he also respects the courts and the vital role an independent judiciary plays in a healthy democracy,” Ducklo added.
At one stage in the October 2016 recording released on Monday, Biden tells the ghostwriter: "The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified."
"I have extensive notes over this period of time… They [the White House] didn't know I have this,” he said.
At the time of the recording, Biden was still serving as vice-president under Barack Obama.
Under Biden between 2021-25, the Justice Department refused to release the tapes.
In an effort to keep the tapes under wraps, Biden’s personal lawyers sued the Justice Department but dropped their lawsuit following legal defeats.
The recordings include significant redactions, which Republicans on the House Oversight Committee claim "are intended to cover [Biden's] disclosure of classified information".
Special Counsel Robert Hur obtained the recordings and transcripts during his 2024 investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.
Hur explained that his decision not to recommend charges was based on his concerns that a jury would side with Biden and view him as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory".
President Trump was charged with illegally retaining the documents at his home in Florida, but the charges were dropped when he returned to the White House.