Biden interview clips suggest forgetfulness, classified disclosures

The Oversight Project, a watchdog organization, released roughly three hours of audio clips on Monday that reveal former President Joe Biden sharing classified information in interviews with his biographer, Mark Lewis Zwonitzer, while also appearing forgetful throughout the conversations. The clips, which date to 2016 and 2017, back up Special Counsel Robert Hur’s 2024 findings that Biden mishandled classified information after his vice presidency, although Hur suggested in his report that Biden not face any criminal charges.

The Oversight Project sued the Justice Department for the tapes’ release. Biden had fought the order in court for months, but he relented on Monday after a divided appeals court rejected his bid to withhold the tapes. The tapes, along with 117 pages of sometimes heavily redacted transcripts, revealed Biden’s disclosure of classified information as more egregious than Hur initially found, according to a Monday statement from the watchdog group. The Oversight Project also argued that Biden’s inability to recall names and admissions that he felt confused during the interviews were evidence he was experiencing cognitive decline even before his 2020 presidential run.

What kind of information did Biden share? At several points, the released tapes record Biden prefacing comments by noting the information was classified, followed by lengthy audio redactions. The redactions cover significant portions of the audio clips, which the Oversight Project cited as evidence that Biden knowingly and willfully disclosed classified information. The information shared with Zwonitzer related to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and other national security concerns. Biden also seemed to reference documents at his house in a safe, and stated that he didn’t remember what he’d been told to do with them.

During the interviews, Biden repeatedly seemed to lose his train of thought and stumbled over names, countries, and dates. He also had to be reminded by Zwonitzer as to where they’d been in the conversation.

Biden also referenced several projects he worked on during his time as vice president. Those ranged from advocating for Ukraine against Russian aggression, helping Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries find new oil deals, working on gun safety, and securing the American energy grid. At various points in the interviews, he called himself the lonely voice on aiding both the middle class and Ukraine.

Biden discussed disagreements with former President Barack Obama regarding the 2008 economic crisis and characterized Obama as subconsciously beholden to Silicon Valley. Biden also recalled an adviser describing him as the most authentic person in both the nation and in politics, and the embodiment of the middle class.