Biden scores temporary court victory as Trump appointed judge delays release of Hur investigation materials

Former President Joe Biden has won another three weeks to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts tied to Special Counsel Robert Hur's classified documents investigation, after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction while a federal appeals court reviews his challenge.The recordings stem from Biden's interviews with Mark Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter of his 2017 memoir, "Promise Me, Dad." U.

S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump-appointee, on Friday issued an injunction pending appeal that prevents the Justice Department from releasing the materials while the D.C.

Circuit considers the case. The order came just hours after Friedrich denied Biden's request for a preliminary injunction that would have stopped the release altogether.The legal battle could determine whether Americans ever hear the recordings that helped shape Hur's decision not to prosecute Biden over his handling of classified documents.

The audio has been the subject of intense scrutiny because Hur raised questions about Biden's memory in explaining why he declined to bring charges against Biden for mishandling classified documents.Although the Justice Department previously released audio from Biden's interviews with Hur, the recordings at the center of the current legal battle involve separate conversations between Biden and Zwonitzer.Hur's 2024 report repeatedly referenced Biden's recorded conversations with Zwonitzer.

The special counsel described some exchanges as "painfully slow" and said Biden at times struggled to recall events and relay information, observations that fueled scrutiny of the then-president's cognitive abilities amid an election year.GREGG JARRETT: RELEASE THE BIDEN TAPES AND LET AMERICANS HEAR THE TRUTH FOR THEMSELVESThe Heritage Foundation and its Oversight Project director Mike Howell have spent more than two years seeking the recordings and transcripts through FOIA requests.Heritage Foundation officials have argued that the public has a strong interest