{"id":5531,"date":"2026-07-28T04:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T04:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5531"},"modified":"2026-07-28T04:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T04:12:13","slug":"confused-biden-admitted-he-discovered-classified-materials-downstairs-in-bumbling-chat-with-ghostwriter-so-many-pauses-and-ums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5531","title":{"rendered":"Confused Biden admitted he discovered classified materials ‘downstairs’ in bumbling chat with ghostwriter: \u2018So many pauses and ums\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Joe Biden appeared confused, struggled to remember facts and lost his train of thought during a series of meandering conversations with his ghostwriter roughly four\u00a0 years before he was elected president.<\/p>\n

Read more Exclusive | Inside the Hamptons power synagogue that\u2019s become the ultimate political pitstop<\/a><\/p>\n

The former commander-in-chief also repeatedly made reference to retaining classified information in the discussions with his biographer Mark Zwonitzer, according to newly-released audio tapes.<\/p>\n

The heavily-redacted recordings of Biden working on his 2017 memoir with Zwonitzer were released Monday to the House Judiciary Committee and the conservative Oversight Project nonprofit after a two-year-long court battle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now know what has been long assumed: the autopen scandal extends far back beyond just when Joe Biden \u2018ran\u2019 for president from his basement,\u201d Oversight Project President Mike Howell said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese tapes have so many pauses and \u2018ums\u2019 that it sounds like Biden is buffering like a dial-up Internet connection,\u201d Howell added.<\/p>\n

In one part of an interview with Zwonitzer, Biden says,\u00a0 \u201cAlright \u2014 what was I going to ask you? Something else\u2026 Uh\u2026 um. Oh gosh. I can\u2019t think of anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another moment, Biden asks his ghostwriter to \u201cHang on a second,\u201d while he apparently studies his notes. \u201cUm \u2026 it\u2019s confusing me,\u201d the former president later says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tapes were previously scrutinized by former special counsel Robert Hur as part of his 2023-2024 investigation into Biden\u2019s retention of classified documents after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According the Oversight Project, the recordings prove \u201cBiden was already demonstrating significant cognitive decline\u201d when he began meeting with Zwonitzer \u2013 just a few months after leaving the Obama administration \u2013 for the 2017 book, \u201cPromise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the sections of the audio tapes that were not redacted, Biden references his confused state of mind on many days,\u201d the group said in a statement. \u201cAs we know occurred during his Presidency, Biden was clearly experiencing good days and bad days as far back as 2017.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

During Zwonitzer interviews with Biden the former president read \u201cnearly verbatim\u201d from notebooks that contained sensitive national security and foreign policy, according to Hur\u2019s 2024 report on the classified documents investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo this was, I early on, um, in \u201909 I just found all the classified stuff downstairs,\u201d Biden is heard telling Zwonitzer in one snippet from the roughly 70 hours of recordings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of this may be classified so be careful with it,\u201d the 46th president warns his ghostwriter at one point. \u201cI\u2019m not sure \u2026 It\u2019s not marked classified but \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

On the tapes, Biden could be heard discovering classified material in real time as he leafed through papers with Zwonitzer nearby.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Mamdani\u2019s $70M city-run grocery plan could buy more than 1M Costco memberships: critics<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe next thing I have here is, um, this is classified \u2026\u201d Biden says in another snippet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The former president also described potentially classified White House meetings with Zwonitzer, according to CBS News, which first-reviewed the tapes, including \u201ca big meeting with the CIA and everyone,\u201d \u201ca big meeting down in the Situation Room,\u201d and \u201ca long meeting where DOD brief \u2026 POTUS.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an Oct. 10, 2016, recording, Biden brags that he retained notes without anyone being aware.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have extensive notes over this period of time\u2026 They didn\u2019t know I have this,\u201d he said, according to the outlet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hur found that Biden \u201cwillfully retained and disclosed classified materials\u201d after leaving the vice presidency but refused to charge the then sitting president because he would \u201clikely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oversight Project argued that the extent of Biden\u2019s disclosure of classified information is \u201cmuch more egregious than previously disclosed\u201d by Hur.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt several points in the tapes, Biden references the information he is reviewing is likely classified, which is followed by significant audio redactions for classified information,\u201d the group said in a statement. \u201cThis was not just once or twice, these classified redactions cover significant portions of the audio files released.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe listener shouldn\u2019t overlook the audio redactions because those redactions are intended to cover the disclosure of classified information.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oversight Project Vice President Jeff Clark fumed that Biden \u201cclearly gives away secret after secret to someone not authorized to hold such secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAnd he did it all for personal and family profit to the tune of $8 million!\u201d Clark continued, referencing a lucrative book deal Biden inked with his publisher.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAmericans want to see accountability. Now you know why Biden\u2019s lawyers fought so hard to keep these tapes and transcripts out of the public\u2019s watchful eye!\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Read more Mamdani brushes off 9\/11 families\u2019 16K-strong petition to bar him from 25th anniversary ceremonies<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Biden appeared confused, struggled to remember facts and lost his train of thought during a series of meandering conversations with his ghostwriter roughly four\u00a0 years before he was elected president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nConfused Biden admitted he discovered classified materials 'downstairs' in bumbling chat with ghostwriter: \u2018So many pauses and ums\u2019 - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5531\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Confused Biden admitted he discovered classified materials 'downstairs' in bumbling chat with ghostwriter: \u2018So many pauses and ums\u2019 - 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