WASHINGTON - Joe Biden has withdrawn his lawsuit seeking to prevent the release of audio recordings and transcripts from interviews with the ghostwriter of his memoirs before he was elected president. The move opens the door for a Republican-led congressional committee to receive the materials.

Biden's legal team submitted a notice of voluntary dismissal just days after a split appeals court panel turned down his request to keep the material private. He could have sought intervention from the Supreme Court or requested a rehearing by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

In a 2-1 decision earlier in the week, the circuit court panel identified a substantial public interest in releasing the recordings and transcripts that Biden hoped to shield. The judges had delayed their ruling until Aug. 3 to give Biden additional time to weigh his options for further appeals.

Circuit Judge Florence Pan issued a dissent stating that Biden had established a substantial privacy interest in withholding the material. The appeal was also considered by D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Gregory Katsas.

Pan received her nomination from Biden. Srinivasan was nominated by former President Barack Obama. Katsas was nominated by former President Donald Trump.

Mark Zwonitzer assisted Biden with two memoirs published in 2007 and 2017. He conducted interviews with Biden at his residence in 2016 and 2017. Biden's attorneys described the exchanges as candid, personal and meant to stay private.

Special counsel Robert Hur obtained the recordings while probing Biden's handling of classified documents from his Senate and vice presidential years. Republicans in Congress requested the material after Hur chose not to pursue charges.

Biden filed suit to block the Justice Department from turning over the recordings to Congress and the Heritage Foundation. The department maintained that the recordings qualified for exemption under public records statutes.

Biden pursued an appeal after U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that public interest in the material surpassed any privacy protections available to Biden.