Newly surfaced audio recordings from a 2023 Justice Department interview with President Joe Biden have shed renewed light on the special counsel’s characterization of the president as an “elderly man with a poor memory.” The recordings, obtained and published by Axios on Friday, capture Biden’s hesitant speech, long pauses, and difficulty recalling key dates—including when his son Beau died and the year Donald Trump was first elected president.
In one revealing four-minute clip, Biden’s voice sounds hoarse and strained as he attempts to recall where he stored classified documents after leaving the vice presidency. His speech falters noticeably when discussing the emotionally charged period surrounding Beau Biden’s death. Members of Biden’s staff can be heard interjecting, helping him recall specific dates and facts. The verbal tone matches the transcript released by the Biden White House in 2024 and confirms concerns first raised by Special Counsel Robert Hur.
Hur’s Controversial Report: Sympathy Meets Legal Judgment
Robert Hur’s February 2024 report concluded that Biden “willfully” retained government documents after leaving office, but he advised against prosecuting the president due to the perception that jurors would view him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” The audio clips appear to support Hur’s controversial assessment, which drew sharp backlash from the White House and Biden’s allies at the time.
The report highlighted “significant limitations” in Biden’s recollection, including his inability to remember when his son died. Hur’s evaluation became a central flashpoint in the public debate over Biden’s fitness for office, despite his legal exoneration. Critics accused Hur of injecting opinionated and inflammatory language into an otherwise factual legal document, while supporters defended the report as an honest portrayal of Biden’s cognitive state.
White House Pushback and Biden’s Emotional Response
Following the release of Hur’s report, President Biden and his team launched a vociferous counteroffensive. The president expressed outrage at the mention of his late son, saying, “How in the hell dare he raise that?” Biden emphasized the emotional pain tied to Beau’s death and argued that it had no bearing on his handling of official documents. “I don’t need anyone to tell me when he passed away,” he declared defiantly.
Biden’s personal attorney, Bob Bauer, denounced the report as “a shabby piece of work” and accused Hur of including “totally inappropriate and pejorative comments.” The White House Counsel’s Office formally asked for revisions to the report, calling its language “inflammatory” and “unwarranted.” Despite the pushback, the narrative around Biden’s age and memory began to solidify in public discourse, especially among political opponents.
Political Fallout and the Debate That Changed Everything
While Democratic leaders initially stood behind Biden, the issue of his cognitive fitness returned to the spotlight during his widely panned June 2024 debate performance against Donald Trump. Biden struggled to complete sentences, frequently lost his train of thought, and looked visibly tired on stage. The debate performance, paired with the earlier Hur report, intensified calls from within his party for him to step aside.
Under mounting pressure, Biden ultimately withdrew from the 2024 presidential race. His exit triggered a dramatic and swift pivot within the Democratic Party, culminating in the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris. Since then, newly published books have further detailed behind-the-scenes efforts by Biden’s aides to keep him in the race despite clear signs of decline. These revelations have fueled renewed scrutiny of his decision-making during the final months of his campaign.
A Defiant Denial Amid Lingering Doubts
Despite the growing chorus of critics, President Biden has steadfastly rejected claims that he suffers from cognitive decline. In a recent appearance on The View, he stated flatly, “There’s nothing to sustain that,” referring to allegations about his mental acuity. His defenders argue that the president remains lucid and capable, and that isolated memory lapses should not overshadow a lifetime of public service and leadership.
Still, the audio’s release reopens a politically sensitive chapter for Biden and the Democratic Party. As the general election approaches and Kamala Harris assumes the mantle of party standard-bearer, the recordings serve as a potent reminder of how concerns about age, memory, and fitness for office shaped the trajectory of the 2024 race. Whether those concerns were justified or exaggerated remains a matter of fierce debate.
