The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project has pledged to secure and disclose the audio recording of an interview between President Joe Biden and ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer, which was reportedly deleted by the latter in June.
The commitment was made public on Tuesday, with the Oversight Project's Executive Director, Mike Howell, taking to social media to express his determination.
"Our team will get the audio tape of Joe Bidens interview to you. This recording is yours. It belongs to you. You deserve to know," Howell wrote, according to The Post Millennial. His post also featured a screenshot of a court filing from December 23, which declared that the "release of the audio recordings would not result in an unwarranted invasion of privacy."
The court document further stated that "President Biden & Zwonitzer have little, if any, privacy interest here," emphasizing that "there is overwhelming public interest in disclosure of the audio recordings." This statement underscores the importance of transparency in public office, a principle that aligns with conservative values of accountability and limited government.
In June, it was revealed that Zwonitzer had chosen not to disclose the extent to which his decision to delete the recordings was influenced by the launch of an investigation by special counsel Robert Hur. During an interview with the FBI, Zwonitzer admitted to routinely deleting audio files after their use, but remained vague about his motivations in this particular instance.
"The outside observer is going to look at this and say, Mark Zwonitzer, President Biden's friend, ghostwriter, collaborator learned of the special counsel's investigation, saw this was happening and then deleted all these audio recordings," the agent said. "I just need the truth on this one ... That was part of your motivation, at least something you were aware of when you did this?"
"I'm not going to say how much of the percentage it was of my motivation," Zwonitzer replied, adding, "I was aware that there was an investigation." He expressed concern about potential hacking and the subsequent spread of the audio on the internet, citing the presence of "a lot of personal stuff and emotional stuff about Beau," Biden's late son, as a primary reason.
Zwonitzer's actions raise questions about the balance between privacy and transparency in public office. While he cited concerns about personal information, the deletion of these recordings has sparked a debate about the public's right to access information about their elected officials. The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project is now taking steps to restore this balance, reinforcing the conservative principle of holding government accountable.
Login