Former President Joe Biden filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department on Tuesday, seeking to block the release of audio recordings from his interview with special counsel Robert Hur as part of the investigation into his handling of classified documents. Biden's legal team argues the recordings should remain protected, even as transcripts of the interviews have already been made public.

The lawsuit targets the Trump administration's DOJ, which has been moving to release the audio files. Biden's attorneys contend that releasing the recordings beyond what was already disclosed in transcript form would serve no legitimate public interest and could be prejudicial. The special counsel investigation concluded without charges being filed against Biden.

Special counsel Robert Hur's report, released in early 2024, described Biden as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" — a characterization that drew intense political scrutiny during the final year of his presidency. The audio recordings of those interviews have since become a subject of dispute between Biden's legal team and federal authorities under the new administration.

President Trump publicly criticized Biden's legal move, characterizing it as an attempt to conceal damaging information. The lawsuit raises questions about executive privilege and the rights of former presidents to protect records from their time in office, legal issues that courts have not fully resolved in prior administrations.

The case adds to a broader pattern of legal battles over records and recordings connected to Biden's tenure. Legal experts note the lawsuit could face significant hurdles, given that the recordings are held by the DOJ and were created in the context of a criminal investigation rather than as official White House communications.