The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied a former president’s emergency motion to block the Justice Department from releasing redacted transcripts and audio recordings of private conversations with his ghostwriter.
The three‑judge panel issued a 2‑1 decision, with Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Gregory Katsas signing the order; Judge Florence Pan dissented and would have granted the injunction.
After the ruling, the former president announced he will not pursue further appellate review, allowing the material to be disclosed.
The case, Heritage Foundation and Mike Howell v. United States Department of Justice, involves roughly 70 hours of recorded interviews between the former president and ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer.
The Justice Department is expected to release the recordings, subject to redactions, in the coming weeks.
A separate investigation by Special Counsel Robert Hur produced a 345‑page report concluding that the former president willfully retained classified documents, including notebooks stored in a personal garage, but no criminal charges were filed.
The report noted that the retained material was designated for a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility and that the former president was aware of the prohibition against such retention.
The appellate ruling and the classified‑documents report together highlight continued scrutiny of the former president’s handling of sensitive information.
