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WASHINGTON — <\/span>A federal appeals court has rejected a request<\/a> by Joe Biden to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of his interviews with a memoir ghostwriter before he was elected president.<\/p>\n A divided three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit suspended its decision until Aug. 3 to allow more time for Biden to consider another appeal.<\/p>\n The panel’s 2-1 ruling late Monday found there is a \u201csubstantial\u201d public interest in disclosing the material that Biden wants to keep under wraps. Redactions to the recordings would help protect Biden’s privacy, the majority noted.<\/p>\n \u201cWe conclude that any remaining incursion on personal privacy from disclosure of the now-redacted materials likely does not outweigh the public interest in disclosure,\u201d the court wrote.<\/p>\n Mark Zwonitzer, who worked with Biden on his two memoirs, interviewed the Democrat at his home in 2016 and 2017. Biden\u2019s lawyers say the conversations were candid, personal and intended to remain private.<\/p>\n The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents<\/a> from his time as a senator from Delaware and as vice president. Republicans in Congress demanded the material after Hur declined to file charges against the then-president.<\/p>\n