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Zwonitzer did not respond to requests for comment by phone or email, but told investigators he deleted the files as a routine step to protect his client’s privacy. Special Counsel Robert K. Hur considered charges against the writer, but ultimately determined there was insufficient evidence to prove that the writer intentionally attempted to obstruct justice.
Hsu also on Thursday did not recommend charges against Biden, concluding that the president handled classified material carelessly but that there was weak evidence of intent.
Among Xu’s findings was that Biden “intentionally retained and disclosed classified materials to a ghostwriter (Zwonitzer) after becoming vice president.” Mr. Zwonitzer never held a security clearance and Mr. Biden knew that, the report added. But Ho said the evidence “does not prove Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Biden said at a news conference Thursday that he did not share classified information while working with Zwonitzer. The two have had a close relationship for over 10 years.
Biden has long been a fan of Richard Ben Cramer’s widely praised book “What it Takes,” which chronicled the 1988 presidential campaign. So when Mr. Biden asked for help writing his memoir in 2006, he turned to Mr. Zwonitzer, Mr. Cramer’s researcher and “right-hand man.” When the Obama administration ended, Biden again tapped Zwonitzer to write his second memoir, “Dad, Promise Me.”
Politico reported in 2021 that Zvonitzer had become more of a friend of Biden than a political ghostwriter, going so far as to call him the president’s “secret muse.”
The 345-page special counsel report released Thursday describes how Biden kept notebooks from his time as vice president and regularly shared them with Zwonitzer to help with the memoir writing process. is detailed. The official said Biden wanted to make a copy of the memo “so he wouldn’t have to go there.” [the National Archives] “I spent every day helping write this book,” the report states.
Zwonitzer recalled Biden mentioning the need to be careful because the memo could be classified. Meanwhile, Mr. Biden also “read the notes of the classified meeting almost word for word to Mr. Zvonitzer,” the report said.
In January 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland Hoar was appointed as special counsel after Biden’s aides said they found classified materials during a search of the president’s home in Delaware and his office in Washington, D.C., according to reports. After learning of Biden’s appointment, Zwonitzer reportedly deleted audio recordings of his conversations with Biden in the process. About writing “Daddy, Promise Me” Published in 2017.
“The recordings had significant evidentiary value,” Hoare said in his report.
According to the report, FBI agents sought interviews with Zwonitzer and records of his work as a ghostwriter for two of Biden’s memoirs. The report said Zwonitzer provided nearly verbatim transcripts and some audio recordings, but when investigators reviewed the documents they noticed some transcripts had no corresponding audio. . Mr. Zwonitzer’s lawyer told authorities that he had deleted some of the recordings of his conversations with Mr. Biden before the FBI contacted him.
Ghostwriter then handed over his computer and hard drive and consented to a search. FBI was able to restore deleted files from a subfolder labeled “audio” on the external hard drive.
“We considered charging Ghostwriter with obstruction of justice, but decided against it because we believed there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction,” Hoar wrote, adding that Zwonitzer had He added that he gave “plausible and innocent” reasons for his actions. “Although the ghostwriter admitted that he deleted the recordings after learning of the special counsel’s investigation, the evidence does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to obstruct the investigation.” has not yet been reached.
When Zwonitzer deleted the recording, he said he did not believe it contained confidential information and did not expect to be involved in the investigation, according to the report. Investigators had not yet contacted him when he deleted the file after learning of the investigation, the report states.
According to the report, the suspect told investigators that he simply removed subfolders of audio files from both his G drive and his laptop and threw them in the trash.
Perry Stein and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.
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