Overview

• Audio excerpts from Biden’s October 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur were published by Axios on May 16, 2025, and authenticated by the Department of Justice.
• The recordings reveal Biden struggling to recall key dates, including the year his son Beau died and when Donald Trump was elected, often requiring prompts from his attorneys.
• Biden’s halting speech and long pauses align with Hur’s 2024 report describing him as a 'sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,' a factor in the decision not to prosecute him.
• The White House had previously withheld the audio, citing concerns over enforcement sensitivity and potential misuse, but transcripts were released last year.
• The release coincides with the upcoming book 'Original Sin,' which examines Biden’s decline and the efforts to obscure it during his presidency and 2024 campaign.