Audio recordings of former President Joe Biden and his memoir ghostwriter were released to the public on Monday, July 27 [5].
The release follows a legal battle over the privacy of the tapes, which provide a rare window into the former president's private discussions on foreign policy and party politics.
The recordings were originally made in 2017 [4] as part of the preparation for Biden's memoir. At the time the interviews began, Biden was 74 years old [1]. More than two and a half hours of audio were made public [3] after courts denied his attempt to keep the recordings private [6]. Some reports indicate that Biden dropped the lawsuit to block the release [7].
Within the tapes, the former president discusses various sensitive topics, including the handling of classified information. In one instance, Biden references classified material that he found downstairs [8]. These recordings have sparked renewed public interest in the former president's memory and his handling of government documents.
Critics and observers have compared these 2017 recordings to later reports on the former president's cognitive health. For instance, Biden was 81 years old when a report was released in early 2026 [2]. The newly released audio allows listeners to contrast his speech and memory from nearly a decade ago with his more recent public appearances.
The tapes cover a broad range of subjects beyond national security, including internal party dynamics, and the drafting of his personal history. The release of the audio marks the end of a protracted effort by the former president to prevent the ghostwriter's recordings from entering the public domain.
“More than two and a half hours of audio were released”
The release of these tapes creates a documented baseline of Joe Biden's cognitive and verbal state from 2017, providing a point of comparison for later evaluations of his health. Furthermore, the mentions of classified materials found in a residential setting may invite further scrutiny into the timeline and nature of his possession of government documents.
