Biden Tapes Reveal Classified Talk, Memory Lapses Years Before Presidency
Left says
- •The audio is more nuanced than conservative activists claim, showing a mix of halting moments and coherent, detailed recollections rather than clear proof of incapacity.
- •Special Counsel Hur already reviewed these same recordings in 2024 and declined to bring charges, meaning the material is not new to prosecutors even though it is newly public.
- •The tapes were released by the Oversight Project, an openly partisan conservative watchdog with a stated goal of undermining Biden's legacy, which should inform how the framing of 'bombshell' claims is weighed.
- •No classified material ever appeared in the published memoir, and the redactions reflect standard national security review rather than proof of criminal intent.
Right says
- •The recordings push documented evidence of Biden's cognitive decline back to 2016 and 2017, years earlier than previously acknowledged, raising questions about whether his condition was concealed from voters throughout his presidency.
- •Biden can be heard acknowledging that material he discussed with an unauthorized, uncleared ghostwriter may have been classified, directly contradicting his public claim that he never shared classified information.
- •The extensive redactions across roughly one-fifth of the recordings suggest the disclosures were substantial rather than incidental, and a former White House stenographer alleges some portions may have been altered with overdubbed silence.
- •These revelations justify reopening scrutiny of Robert Hur's investigation and decision not to prosecute, as well as examining whether aides and officials concealed Biden's condition from the public for political purposes.
Common Take
High Consensus- The recordings were made in 2016 and 2017 during Biden's interviews with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer for his memoir 'Promise Me, Dad.'
- Biden fought for more than two years in court to keep the tapes sealed before abandoning the legal battle following an adverse D.C. Circuit ruling.
- Biden is heard on the recordings acknowledging that some material he discussed may be classified, and portions of the audio are redacted.
- Special Counsel Robert Hur previously reviewed the underlying material in 2024 and declined to bring charges, describing Biden as a sympathetic person with a poor memory.
The Arguments
Right argues
Biden is heard on tape acknowledging that material he was discussing with an unauthorized, uncleared ghostwriter may have been classified, which directly contradicts his later public claim that he never shared classified information.
Left counters
Special Counsel Hur already reviewed these same recordings in 2024, weighed the classified references, and declined to bring charges, so the content isn't new to prosecutors even though it's newly public and dramatic-sounding out of context.
Right argues
Roughly one-fifth of the recordings are redacted across 123 separate instances, and a former White House stenographer alleges some segments sound overdubbed with silence rather than simply cut, suggesting the disclosures were extensive and possibly the redaction process itself was irregular.
Left counters
Redactions reflect a standard classification review by agencies like the CIA and Defense Department, and one uncorroborated allegation from a stenographer about audio irregularities is not proof of tampering, especially when the redaction categories align with routine national security markings.
Left argues
The audio is more mixed than the 'bombshell' framing suggests, containing both halting, confused moments and coherent, detailed policy recollections, which undercuts the narrative that the tapes are unambiguous proof of incapacity in 2016-2017.
Right counters
Even granting some coherent stretches, Hur's own report already characterized Biden as having 'diminished faculties' and 'painfully slow' conversations as early as 2016, and the newly public audio provides the concrete evidence behind that previously abstract conclusion.
Left argues
The recordings were released by the Oversight Project, an openly partisan group whose explicit mission is to damage Biden's legacy, so their curation and framing of clips as a 'bombshell' should be weighed with appropriate skepticism.
Right counters
The source's political motivation doesn't change what is actually on the tape; Biden's own words and the DOJ's own classification-based redactions are the evidence, not the Oversight Project's commentary, and Biden's team fought release for two years rather than dispute authenticity.
Right argues
The tapes justify reopening scrutiny of Hur's decision not to prosecute and of whether Biden's aides and family concealed his cognitive state from voters for years, given the gap between the private recordings and the public persona maintained through 2020 and beyond.
Left counters
No classified material ever actually appeared in the published memoir, and Hur — a Trump-appointed former DOJ attorney with no incentive to protect Biden — already investigated this exact conduct and concluded a jury would see a sympathetic elderly man rather than a criminal, undercutting claims of an active cover-up.
Challenge Questions
These questions target genuine internal contradictions — meant to provoke honest reflection.
Right asks Left
“If Hur's 2024 report already publicly described Biden as having 'diminished faculties' and 'painfully slow' recall dating to 2016, why should hearing the underlying audio be dismissed as unsurprising rather than treated as the concrete confirmation of a finding many Democrats spent months publicly attacking as unfair?”
Left asks Right
“If Hur, after reviewing this same material with subpoena power and no motive to protect Biden, concluded a jury would not convict and declined to prosecute, what specific new legal evidence—as opposed to political framing—do these tapes add that would justify reopening a prosecutorial decision already made by a Trump-appointed former DOJ official?”
Outlier Report
Left Fringe
Figures like MSNBC's Chris Hayes or commentators who dismissed all decline concerns as 'right-wing conspiracy' during 2024 represent maybe 10-15% of the left; most Democrats by mid-2024 acknowledged some decline given the debate performance.
Right Fringe
Figures like Jack Posobiec or some Oversight Project-aligned commentators framing this as proof of a criminal conspiracy justifying reversing Biden-era actions wholesale represent an aggressive ~20-25% of the right; most conservatives take a more measured 'this confirms what we suspected' view without demanding sweeping legal action.
Noise Assessment
High noise ratio - much of the framing ('bombshell,' 'autopen scandal,' calls to reopen Hur probe) is amplified by partisan advocacy groups like the Oversight Project and conservative media aggregation, while actual public reaction is likely more muted and centers on already-settled views about Biden's decline rather than new outrage.
Sources (12)
<img src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/the-biden-tapes-blow-open-the-autopen-scandal.jpg?id=67547350&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C53%2C0%2C54" /><br /><br /><p>Two summers ago, our team at the <a href="https://itsyourgov.org/" target="_blank">Oversight Project</a> sat in a conference room asking the same question as the rest of the country: How were they running the government with a broken president?</p><p>That was before Joe Biden’s <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/biden-trump-reaction-social-media" target="_blank">complete malfunction</a> on the debate stage. Even then, we were confident he could not sustain a full re-election campaign. We began examining whether state election laws would permit Democrats to replace him after key ballot deadlines. Leaked Democratic National Committee <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4754179-biden-polling-memo-leaked/" target="_blank">memos</a> showed that the prospect had already alarmed both pro- and anti-Biden factions.</p><p class="pull-quote">The silence on the tapes speaks loudly. It suggests knowing and willful conduct, not an innocent paperwork mistake. </p><p>As a clip of Biden stumbling played on the television, someone asked the lawyer’s question: How were they moving paper through the White House, and could Biden even sign it?</p><p>After a brief silence, someone answered: Probably an autopen. Let’s find the documents and calendars and figure it out.</p><p>The rest became what President Trump has called the <a href="https://www.al.com/politics/2025/06/trump-calls-this-the-biggest-scandal-in-a-century-fake-news-will-try-and-hide-it.html" target="_blank">scandal of the century</a>: congressional investigations, Justice Department and <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/06/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-directs-review-of-certain-presidential-actions/" target="_blank">White House inquiries</a>, evidence of the extraordinary lengths Biden’s aides took to conceal his condition, and even the rearrest of violent felons who should never have received autopenned commutations.</p><p>Accountability, however, has remained elusive.</p><p>Which is infuriating. What happened during the Biden years was wrong, harmful, and in many instances unlawful. The Constitution vests presidential authority in one person. That person must possess both the capacity and the awareness to authorize official acts. The entire system depends on fixing responsibility on the president whom the voters chose.</p><p>That did not happen. For a country that has spent decades lecturing the world about democracy, the Biden presidency became an embarrassment at home.</p><p>Monday brought a measure of accountability. After more than two years of litigation, the Biden tapes were released to the American people.</p><p>Joe Biden and his well-funded legal team fought us in federal district court and on appeal. We won both times. Biden could have asked the Supreme Court to intervene, but he finally surrendered. His lawyers had so much time and money that they devoted pages of legal filings to posts from my X feed and that of my colleague Jeff Clark, apparently hoping to discredit us before the court. I will always enjoy knowing that the Biden team paid an aspiring left-wing lawyer to study my unvarnished thoughts.</p><p><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/joe-biden-tapes-release-classified" target="_self">Biden audio tapes have just been released — and it’s not good for Joe</a></strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="" class="rm-shortcode" id="01184" src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=67547356&width=980" /> <small class="image-media media-photo-credit">Mandel Ngan/Pool/Getty Images</small></p><p>What does the release of the tapes mean?</p><p>First, it pushes the timeline of Biden’s decline back to 2016 and 2017.</p><p>The recordings capture Biden’s interviews with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer while the two worked on Biden’s memoir, “Promise Me, Dad.” They were made within six months of Biden leaving the vice presidency. On the tapes, Biden forgets the name of Rep. Jim Clyburn, the man who would later rescue his 2020 campaign. He repeatedly says, “I’m so confused” and, “I can’t remember.”</p><p>The good days and bad days that defined his presidency were already apparent in 2017. The recordings contain so many pauses and verbal stalls that Biden sounds like a dial-up connection trying to buffer.</p><p>That helps explain why the 2020 campaign used COVID-19 as cover to keep him in the basement. Had Biden been forced to speak publicly and off the cuff throughout that campaign, his decline might have become as obvious then as it was during the 2024 debate. Democratic leaders knew they were selling damaged goods long before the public finally saw the label.</p><p>Second, the tapes raise serious questions about special counsel <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/media-cover-up-unravels-bidens-mental-struggles-confirmed-in-damning-leaked-tapes" target="_blank">Robert Hur’s investigation</a> into Biden’s handling of classified information.</p><p>Hur declined to prosecute, concluding that a jury would view Biden as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Yet the recordings reveal conduct more serious than Hur’s public account suggested.</p><p>At several points, Biden acknowledges that the material before him may be classified. The audio then cuts to long stretches of silence redacted for national security reasons. These are not isolated interruptions. Classified redactions cover substantial portions of the recordings.</p><p>The transcripts indicate that Biden disclosed information involving the CIA, the Defense Department, and other sensitive national security matters to a ghostwriter who lacked both a security clearance and authorization to receive it. Biden made those disclosures while pursuing a book deal worth $8 million.</p><p>The silence on the tapes speaks loudly. It suggests knowing and willful conduct, not an innocent paperwork mistake. The recordings justify a fresh examination of whether Hur’s investigation was designed to uncover the full truth or to contain a politically explosive scandal.</p><p><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/biden-freed-killers-with-a-pen-he-didnt-even-hold" target="_self">Biden freed killers with a pen he didn’t even hold</a></strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="" class="rm-shortcode" id="54d0c" src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=67547367&width=980" /> <small class="image-media media-photo-credit">Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</small></p><p>Third, the tapes open the door to criminal inquiries.</p><p>Biden told the American people that he “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-ghostwriter-mark-zwonitzer-classified-documents-case-8ad6e560c2eb54e25db149a2d01ad545" target="_blank">did not share classified information</a>” with his ghostwriter. The tapes contradict that statement. Knowing and willful disclosure of national defense information to an unauthorized person can constitute a federal crime. Unlike a witness with a failing memory, a recording does not need to testify.</p><p>The inquiry should not stop with Biden. His White House <a href="https://abcnews.com/Politics/white-house-fires-back-special-counsel-report-harris/story?id=107112306" target="_blank">mobilized</a> in 2024 to discredit Hur for accurately describing the president’s mental condition. Officials who knew the truth attacked the special counsel for saying it aloud. The autopen scandal was institutional, and accountability must extend to the aides who enabled, concealed, and benefited from it.</p><p>Investigators must reconstruct the timeline carefully. Biden was plainly diminished in 2016 and 2017, though he deteriorated further by 2024. What was his mental state when he removed classified documents from secure facilities? Did he understand that he was disclosing protected information when he said as much on tape? How did Hur evaluate intent at the time the alleged offenses occurred rather than at the time of his later interview?</p><p>Those questions demand answers.</p><p>The tapes always belonged to the American people. The Oversight Project merely delivered them to their rightful owners.</p><p>America can never again permit a presidential administration to operate by mechanized fiat. Only one person may exercise the powers of the presidency. That person must know what he is authorizing, accept responsibility for it, and actually possess the confidence of the voters who put him there.</p>
<p>Recently released tapes of former President Joe Biden's conversations with the ghostwriter of his 2017 memoir reveal he admitted to keeping classified documents.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/28/audio-joe-biden-told-ghostwriter-he-kept-classified-docs-his-home-years-before-2020-campaign/" rel="nofollow">Audio: Joe Biden Told Ghostwriter He Kept Classified Docs in His Home — Years Before His 2020 Campaign</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.breitbart.com" rel="nofollow">Breitbart</a>.</p>
Audio recordings that former President Joe Biden fought for years to keep private have now been released.
‘I should write the names down because I keep forgetting them.’
Newly released audio recordings of Joe Biden reveal the former president was aware that material he had stored in his basement was classified, and discussed such materials. In the audio, which was obtained and released by the Oversight Project after a legal battle, Biden told his ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer in 2017 that he found documents ...
Former White House stenographer Mike McCormick told Newsmax that Joe Biden broke the law by retaining and sharing classified material as vice president, and alleged newly released audio recordings were edited with added silence.
Almost four years before he was sworn in as president, Joe Biden showed numerous instances of apparent memory loss, recently released recordings show. Recordings of Biden’s conversations with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer became available through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the Oversight Project, a watchdog group. The conversations took place on several occasions from...
Joe Biden shared candid thoughts about some of his fellow Democrat politicians years before his presidency, according to recently released recordings of interviews with his ghostwriter. Biden’s discussions from October 2016 through April 2017 with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer were published by the Oversight Project, a watchdog group, through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The...
Long before he ran for president, Joe Biden made several references to both classified and potentially classified material in his interviews with a ghostwriter. The tapes of the interviews were released as part of a Freedom of Information Act request from the Oversight Project, a watchdog group formerly part of The Heritage Foundation. Biden intervened...
<img alt="Former President Joe Biden speaks at an event in South Carolina." class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" src="https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-29-at-12.46.27-AM-1200x675.png" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;" />The recordings come compliments of the Oversight Project, a government watchdog that fought for more than two years to bring them to the public.
More than two hours of audio recordings that former President Biden fought to keep private were released on Monday. In 2016 and 2017 home interviews with memoir ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer, the former president acknowledged that some of the notes he kept at his home included classified information and struggled to remember key details and names. …
Audio of Joe Biden's interviews with a ghostwriter in 2016 and 2017 show him referencing classified materials and occasionally struggling to recall details.