Newly released audio of President Joe Biden’s 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur showed what had previously been only suggested in transcripts that Biden frequently struggled with memory lapses, including key details such as when his son Beau died and the year Donald Trump was elected. The recordings, made public Friday, offer a rare and unfiltered glimpse into the president’s state of mind during a high-stakes federal investigation and have reignited questions about his mental acuity, which the White House has long sought to downplay.
In the six-hour conversation, split across two sessions in October 2023, Biden appears at times lost, slow to respond, and unsure of significant facts. The audio captures long pauses, soft muttering, and moments when his legal team had to assist him in recalling major life events. At one point, Biden struggled to recall that his son Beau died in 2015, requiring prompting from his lawyers. In another instance, he asked for confirmation of when Trump was elected. The backdrop of the interview, the steady tick of a grandfather clock in the Map Room, underscores the president’s halting speech and difficulty in staying on track.
While the transcript of the interview had already raised concerns when it was released earlier this year, the audio gives texture to the president’s performance his whispering, his distracted recollections, and the evident reliance on his attorneys. One exchange captures Biden saying, “In 2017, Beau had passed,” only for his counsel to gently correct him, reminding him that Beau died in 2015. Another moment features Biden failing to recall telling his ghostwriter, “I just found all the classified stuff downstairs,” despite a 2017 recording in which he had clearly said it. “I don’t remember,” he replied. “And I’m not supposed to speculate, right?”
The release of the audio follows months of Democratic infighting and renewed scrutiny over whether Biden should have pursued a second term. His withdrawal from the 2024 race came after a poor debate performance and rising pressure from party leaders. Though Vice President Kamala Harris ultimately lost to Donald Trump, a forthcoming book Original Sin by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson — claims that Biden’s closest aides shielded his physical and cognitive decline from the public eye during the campaign.
Robert Hur’s report ultimately concluded that Biden, despite his mishandling of classified documents, should not face criminal charges. The reason? His age and forgetfulness would likely make a jury view him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Here's the transcript of the leaked audio:
Robert Hur: So during this time we were living in Chambers Road and there were documents related to the Penn Biden center or the Biden cancer bone shot or your book. Where did you keep papers that related to those things that you were actively working on?
Biden: Well, I-I-I-I don't know. This is 2017, 18, that period. Remember, in this time frame, my son is either been deployed or is dying. And. And so if it was. And by the way, there were still a lot of people at the time when I got out of the Senate that encouraging me to run in this period except the President. I'm not. Not a mean thing to say. I mean he just thought that she had a better shot of winning the presidency than I did. And so I hadn't. I hadn't at this point, even though I'm at Penn, I hadn't walked away from the idea that I might run for office again. If I ran again, I'd be running for president. And so what was happening though? When did Bo die? May 30th. Was it 2015 he died. I'm not sure the months are. But I think that was. Yeah, that's right, Mr. President. And what's happened in the meantime is that as. And Trump gets elected in November of 2017. 16. 2016. All right, so that's when you left office in January of 2017. Okay, that's a chunk. Is sworn in January, right? Correct. Okay. Yeah, correct. And in 2017, Beau had passed. And this is personal the genesis of the book and the title. Promise me dad was a. I know you're all close with your sons and daughters, but Bo was like my right arm and that was my left. These guys were a year and a day apart and they could finish each other's sentences. Bo. I used to go home on the train in my period that I was still in the Senate. Anyway. Excuse me. There was pressure. Not pressure. Bo knew how much I adored him. And this sounds. Maybe this sounds. So everybody knew how closer word there was not anybody in the world wonder whether or not. Anyway.
In the six-hour conversation, split across two sessions in October 2023, Biden appears at times lost, slow to respond, and unsure of significant facts. The audio captures long pauses, soft muttering, and moments when his legal team had to assist him in recalling major life events. At one point, Biden struggled to recall that his son Beau died in 2015, requiring prompting from his lawyers. In another instance, he asked for confirmation of when Trump was elected. The backdrop of the interview, the steady tick of a grandfather clock in the Map Room, underscores the president’s halting speech and difficulty in staying on track.
While the transcript of the interview had already raised concerns when it was released earlier this year, the audio gives texture to the president’s performance his whispering, his distracted recollections, and the evident reliance on his attorneys. One exchange captures Biden saying, “In 2017, Beau had passed,” only for his counsel to gently correct him, reminding him that Beau died in 2015. Another moment features Biden failing to recall telling his ghostwriter, “I just found all the classified stuff downstairs,” despite a 2017 recording in which he had clearly said it. “I don’t remember,” he replied. “And I’m not supposed to speculate, right?”
Exclusive: Axios obtained the audio of Robert Hur's 2023 interviews of Biden which show repeated mental lapses as he struggles to remember words & dates amid long, uncomfortable pauses.
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) May 16, 2025
Biden WH didn't release it last year. Listen below.
w/ @MarcACaputo https://t.co/VJr2c9m3bh pic.twitter.com/Xoa0rQMtG9
The release of the audio follows months of Democratic infighting and renewed scrutiny over whether Biden should have pursued a second term. His withdrawal from the 2024 race came after a poor debate performance and rising pressure from party leaders. Though Vice President Kamala Harris ultimately lost to Donald Trump, a forthcoming book Original Sin by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson — claims that Biden’s closest aides shielded his physical and cognitive decline from the public eye during the campaign.
Robert Hur’s report ultimately concluded that Biden, despite his mishandling of classified documents, should not face criminal charges. The reason? His age and forgetfulness would likely make a jury view him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Here's the transcript of the leaked audio:
Robert Hur: So during this time we were living in Chambers Road and there were documents related to the Penn Biden center or the Biden cancer bone shot or your book. Where did you keep papers that related to those things that you were actively working on?
Biden: Well, I-I-I-I don't know. This is 2017, 18, that period. Remember, in this time frame, my son is either been deployed or is dying. And. And so if it was. And by the way, there were still a lot of people at the time when I got out of the Senate that encouraging me to run in this period except the President. I'm not. Not a mean thing to say. I mean he just thought that she had a better shot of winning the presidency than I did. And so I hadn't. I hadn't at this point, even though I'm at Penn, I hadn't walked away from the idea that I might run for office again. If I ran again, I'd be running for president. And so what was happening though? When did Bo die? May 30th. Was it 2015 he died. I'm not sure the months are. But I think that was. Yeah, that's right, Mr. President. And what's happened in the meantime is that as. And Trump gets elected in November of 2017. 16. 2016. All right, so that's when you left office in January of 2017. Okay, that's a chunk. Is sworn in January, right? Correct. Okay. Yeah, correct. And in 2017, Beau had passed. And this is personal the genesis of the book and the title. Promise me dad was a. I know you're all close with your sons and daughters, but Bo was like my right arm and that was my left. These guys were a year and a day apart and they could finish each other's sentences. Bo. I used to go home on the train in my period that I was still in the Senate. Anyway. Excuse me. There was pressure. Not pressure. Bo knew how much I adored him. And this sounds. Maybe this sounds. So everybody knew how closer word there was not anybody in the world wonder whether or not. Anyway.
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