Newly released audio tapes show Joe Biden repeatedly warning his ghostwriter that documents they were reviewing might be classified, reigniting the controversy over his handling of classified material.
The recordings, from 2016 and 2017, capture Biden leafing through papers while working on his memoir "Promise Me, Dad" with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer.
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At one point, Biden says: "Some of this may be classified, so be careful with it. I'm not sure ...
it's not marked classified, but ..."
In another recording, Biden announces: "The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified."
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The most striking moment comes in February 2017, one month after Biden left the vice presidency, when he tells Zwonitzer: "I just found all the classified stuff downstairs."
Biden also discusses high-level meetings involving the CIA, the Situation Room and the Department of Defense, and says the White House did not know he had extensive notes from his time in the Obama administration.
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The recordings were later reviewed by Special Counsel Robert Hur, whose 2024 report found evidence Biden retained and disclosed classified material after leaving office.
Hur declined to bring charges, citing possible defenses, Biden's cooperation and concerns a jury would view him as an elderly man with a poor memory.
Biden publicly insisted in 2024 he never shared classified information with his ghostwriter. No classified material appeared in the finished memoir.
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The audio was released by the conservative Oversight Project nonprofit following a years-long legal battle, turning Biden's private book sessions into public listening material.
