A federal appeals court has blocked the public release of audio recordings from President Joe Biden's interviews with special counsel Robert Hur. The decision dealt a significant blow to conservative advocacy groups and media organizations that had sued for access to the audio files under the Freedom of Information Act. The ruling solidifies the administration's stance on maintaining the confidentiality of the recordings.
The legal dispute stems from Hur's investigation into President Biden's handling of classified documents. Although the Department of Justice previously released the written transcripts of the interviews, it vehemently opposed releasing the actual audio. The administration argued that disclosing the physical voice recordings could jeopardize future high-profile investigations by discouraging key witnesses from cooperating fully with federal prosecutors.