Newly released audio recordings reveal Joe Biden casually discussed classified materials with his ghostwriter while struggling through confused, halting conversations years before his presidency—including admitting he found secret documents stored improperly at his residence.

Recordings Expose Classified Document Handling

The heavily-redacted tapes, released Monday to the House Judiciary Committee after a two-year court battle, capture Biden working on his 2017 memoir with biographer Mark Zwonitzer. In one recording, Biden tells his ghostwriter he discovered classified materials stored incorrectly. The former president warns Zwonitzer to be careful with information that may be classified, even as he reads from sensitive notebooks containing national security details.

Biden can be heard discovering classified material in real time during the sessions. He bragged in an October 2016 recording about retaining extensive notes without authorization, stating others did not know he possessed them. The recordings document Biden reading nearly verbatim from notebooks containing sensitive national security and foreign policy information, according to special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation report.

Cognitive Struggles Documented Throughout Tapes

The roughly 70 hours of recordings show Biden frequently pausing, losing his train of thought, and struggling to remember basic facts. Conservative Oversight Project President Mike Howell noted the tapes contain so many pauses and filler words that Biden sounds like he is buffering. In multiple instances, Biden asks what he was going to say, admits confusion while reviewing his notes, and cannot complete thoughts he started.

The Oversight Project stated the recordings prove Biden demonstrated significant cognitive decline as early as 2017, just months after leaving the Obama administration. The conservative group noted Biden clearly experienced good days and bad days during the interview sessions, a pattern that continued throughout his presidency. Biden described potentially classified White House meetings with his ghostwriter, including discussions about CIA briefings and Situation Room sessions.

Special Counsel Declined Prosecution

Special counsel Hur found Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after leaving the vice presidency but declined to prosecute. Hur concluded Biden would likely present himself to a jury as a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with poor memory. The decision not to charge the then-sitting president came despite evidence Biden knowingly possessed classified information and shared details with someone lacking security clearance. The recordings remained sealed until this week’s release following the prolonged legal battle.