Trump is torching Joe Biden over a bid to keep explosive classified-documents audio recordings hidden from the public, branding the former president a “Crooked Politician” as a new court fight heats up over nearly 70 hours of tapes.
The dispute centers on interviews Biden gave in 2017 to writer Mark Zwonitzer while the author was working on a book about the death of Biden’s son, Beau.
The recordings later became evidence reviewed by then-special counsel Robert Hur during his investigation into Biden’s handling of classified material.
Biden is now trying to prevent the recordings from becoming public. The legal battle was triggered after the Heritage Foundation sought release of the material through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Biden allies argue the effort has little to do with transparency. “The DOJ themselves have said these tapes serve no public interest. What’s happening now isn’t about transparency. It’s about politics,” Biden spokesman TJ Ducklo said.
Ducklo also accused the administration of applying a double standard.
“If this administration were genuinely committed to transparency, they would release Volume 2 of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s own alleged mishandling of classified documents,” he went on.
The recordings became politically explosive after details from Hur’s investigation emerged.
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According to the report, Biden told Zwonitzer on tape, “I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.”
Hur also wrote that Biden read journal entries containing classified intelligence “nearly verbatim” several times.
The investigation ultimately did not result in criminal charges against Biden, but Hur’s report generated enormous controversy after it described the president as a sympathetic elderly man suffering from memory problems.
At the time, the White House fiercely disputed that characterization.
The controversy only intensified after portions of Hur’s interview with Biden later became public and appeared to show the memory lapses described in the report.
Additional court filings revealed that Zwonitzer deleted portions of the recordings after finding out that Hur had been appointed special counsel in 2023, though the purged material was eventually recovered.
Republicans seized on the revelations, arguing they raised questions about Biden’s fitness for office.
The issue exploded into public view in February 2024 when Biden delivered a nationally televised response to Hur’s findings.
One of the most memorable moments came when Biden objected to the suggestion that he had forgotten the date of Beau Biden’s death.
“I know there’s some attention paid to some language in the report about my recollection of events. There’s even reference that I don’t remember when my son died,” Biden remarked. “How in the hell dare he raise that?”
Moments later, however, Biden stumbled while recalling the name of the saint connected to a rosary he carried in memory of his son.
“Let me tell you something, some of you have commented, I swear since the day he died, every single day, the rosary that he got from our lady of…,” Biden said before trailing off and moving forward with his remarks.
The president then defended his mental sharpness when questioned about Hur’s characterization.
“I’m well-meaning and I’m an elderly man and I know what the hell I’m doing,” Biden said.
“I put this country back on its feet. I don’t need his recommendation,” he claimed at the time. “My memory has not gotten worse. My memory is fine!”
Trump revisited the issue this week after news broke that Biden was suing to stop release of the recordings. “A Crooked Politician!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Asked about the lawsuit at the White House, Trump expanded on his criticism.
“The man was grossly incompetent, and the Democrats — I call them the Dumocrats because their policy is so bad — but they came very close to destroying our country,” Trump commented.
“We can never let it happen again, and I hope that you’re able to produce that,” he added. “It would be very interesting reading for people.”
The renewed attention on Biden arrived the same day a new interview preview with former first lady Jill Biden offered fresh insight into one of the defining moments of the 2024 election.
During a conversation scheduled to air Sunday on CBS, Jill Biden was asked about her husband’s horrible debate performance against then-candidate Trump.
The debate became a turning point in the race, triggering widespread concern among Democrats and eventually leading to Biden’s withdrawal from the campaign.
“Were you horrified as you saw it unfold?” the interviewer asked.
“I wasn’t horrified, I was frightened,” Jill Biden replied. “Because I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since.”
When asked what she believed had happened, the former first lady offered a vague answer.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “I mean, when I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s having a stroke,’ and it scared me to death.”
Jill Biden insisted she had never seen her husband in a similar condition before or afterward.
The comments were a total contrast to her public reaction on debate night.
After the event, she enthusiastically greeted Biden onstage and praised his performance before supporters.
“Joe, you did such a great job! You answered every question, you knew all the facts!” she cheered. “And let me ask the crowd. What did Trump do? Lie!”
The moment generated heavy criticism at the time, with commentators arguing she appeared to be praising the president as though he were a child.
The debate fallout continued for weeks. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who eventually became the Democratic nominee after Biden exited the race, later reflected on the episode in her memoir.
“‘It’s Joe and Jill’s decision.’ We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized,” Harris wrote.
Biden remained in the race for several weeks following the debate before stepping aside with 107 days remaining before the election.
In a July 2024 interview with George Stephanopoulos, Biden said he had been “feeling terrible” the day of the debate but rejected concerns about his age and mental acuity.
Since leaving office, Biden has also faced significant health challenges. Last May, he revealed he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. According to his office, he later completed a course of radiation treatment in October.
The full CBS interview with Jill Biden is scheduled to air Sunday ahead of the June 2 release of her memoir, “View From the East Wing.”
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