On the 20th (local time), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a request by former President Joe Biden to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts from interviews he conducted ten years ago with Mark Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter of his memoir.

Zwonitzer conducted interviews at Biden's private residence in 2016 and 2017. Biden’s legal team argued that the conversations were candid and personal in nature, and were intended to remain private.

The three-judge panel stayed the implementation of the ruling until August 3 to provide former President Biden sufficient time to file an appeal.

Biden’s legal team may request an "en banc" hearing—a rehearing involving all judges of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals—rather than relying on the three-judge panel that issued this 2-1 decision. This is reportedly due to concerns that an immediate appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court could work against them, given the court's conservative-leaning majority.

In this 2-1 appellate court ruling, the judges determined that there is a "substantial" public interest in disclosing the materials that Biden had sought to keep private.

In the majority opinion, Judges Sri Srinivasan and Gregory Katsas stated, "Even if some potential for intrusion on personal privacy remains, it does not outweigh the public interest in disclosure."

Judge Srinivasan was appointed by former President Obama and was once widely considered a potential Supreme Court nominee before Obama ultimately chose Merrick Garland. Judge Katsas was appointed during the first term of the Trump administration.

Judge Florence Pan, whom former President Biden appointed to the federal bench, issued a dissenting opinion, arguing that privacy should be protected given that the interviews took place in a private setting and did not result in criminal charges.

The audio files and transcripts contain the content of interviews conducted in 2016 and 2017 for the writing of Biden’s memoir, "Promise Me, Dad." The materials were obtained by Special Counsel Robert Hur during his investigation into Biden's alleged mishandling of classified documents and are currently held by the Department of Justice.

Subsequently, the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for their release in 2024. Biden’s side has been litigating to block the Department of Justice—now under the Trump administration—from releasing the documents.

In June, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that the public interest in the materials outweighed Biden’s right to privacy, a decision Biden’s team subsequently appealed. Judge Friedrich was a Trump appointee.

During a previously released portion of his 2023 interview with Special Counsel Hur, former President Biden appeared to struggle with recalling details regarding his time as vice president and the death of his son, Beau.

Throughout his presidency, Biden faced criticism questioning his mental fitness to hold office.

Because of this, conservatives are keenly interested in "what other shocking revelations might emerge."

U.S. NNP = CEO & Senior Reporter Hong Seong-gu / Special NNP Report info@newsandpost.com