Former President Joe Biden speaks during the National Bar Association's 100th Annual Awards Gala in Chicago on July 31, 2025. In an October 2016 session, recorded while he was still the sitting vice president, Biden tells ghostwriter Mark Lewis Zwonitzer: "I have extensive notes over this period of time... Joe Biden: "So this was, I early on, um, in '09 I just found all the classified stuff downstairs." It's not marked classified, but -"Joe Biden: "Some of this may be classified so be careful with it." Promise Me, Dad sold more than 300,000 copies, and Biden took in roughly $1.8 million from thirty book-tour appearances.