Newly released audio recordings from Joe Biden’s conversations with the ghostwriter of his 2017 memoir capture him discussing classified materials, warning that some documents may contain sensitive information, and at times appearing to lose his train of thought. The recordings, which surfaced Monday after a lengthy legal battle, were previously reviewed during Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.

The heavily redacted recordings, totaling roughly 70 hours, were released to the House Judiciary Committee and the conservative Oversight Project after two years of litigation. The conversations were recorded while Biden worked with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer on his memoir, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.

The recordings had already been examined by former Special Counsel Robert Hur during his 2023-2024 investigation into Biden’s retention of classified records following the end of his tenure as vice president in 2017.

In one portion of the recordings, Biden appears to discuss discovering classified materials among his personal papers, saying, “So this was, I early on, um, in ’09 I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.”

At another point, Biden cautions Zwonitzer about documents they were reviewing together, saying, “Some of this may be classified so be careful with it. I’m not sure … It’s not marked classified but —”

According to Hur’s final report, Biden read “nearly verbatim” from notebooks containing sensitive national security and foreign policy information while working with Zwonitzer on the memoir.

The recordings also capture Biden apparently realizing in real time that some of the documents in front of him contained classified information. In one exchange, he says, “The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified …”

According to CBS News, which first reviewed the tapes, Biden also discussed White House meetings that may have involved classified information, including what he described as “a big meeting with the CIA and everyone,” “a big meeting down in the Situation Room,” and “a long meeting where DOD brief … POTUS.”

One recording dated October 10, 2016, includes Biden speaking about notes he had retained without others realizing it.

“I have extensive notes over this period of time … They didn’t know I have this,” he said.

The newly released audio also includes several moments in which Biden appears to struggle to recall information or loses his train of thought during conversations with his ghostwriter.

At one point, Biden says, “Alright — what was I going to ask you? Something else … Uh… um. Oh gosh. I can’t think of anything else.”

In another exchange, Biden pauses to review his papers, telling Zwonitzer, “Hang on a second,” before later adding, “Um … it’s confusing me.”

Hur ultimately concluded that Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials” after leaving office as vice president. However, he declined to pursue criminal charges, writing that Biden would “likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”