A federal judge on Friday dismissed President Donald Trump‘s nearly $50 million lawsuit against the journalist Bob Woodward for publishing tapes from interviews for his 2020 best-seller “Rage” as an audiobook.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan is a victory for Woodward, his publisher Simon & Schuster and its former owner Paramount Global.
Woodward interviewed Trump 19 times between December 2019 and August 2020, and about 20% of “Rage” came from the interviews.
The book was released in September 2020, while the audiobook “The Trump Tapes,” including Woodward‘s commentary, was released in October 2022.
In a 59-page decision, Gardephe said Trump did not plausibly allege that he and Woodward intended to be joint authors of “The Trump Tapes,” saying Simon & Schuster credited Trump as a “reader” while crediting Woodward as the author.
The judge, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, also said Trump did not show he had a copyright interest in his stand-alone responses to Woodward's questions.
Gardephe also said federal copyright law preempted Trump’s state law-based claims. He gave Trump until Aug. 18 to amend his complaint a third time.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said in a statement: “In another biased action by a New York Court, this wrongful decision was issued without even affording President Trump the basic due process of a hearing. We will continue to ensure that those who commit wrongdoing against President Trump and all Americans are held accountable.”
Lawyers for Woodward, Simon & Schuster and Paramount did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters cited
The defendants had argued that federal law barred Trump from copyrighting interviews conducted as part of his official duties, and that no president before him ever demanded royalties for publishing presidential interviews.
They also called Woodward the “sole architect and true author” of the interviews, just as journalists like the late Walter Cronkite and Barbara Walters were in interviews with other presidents.
Woodward also said his interviews reflected “classic news reporting” that helped convey accurate information to the public, and thus amounted to “fair use.”
Trump sued in January 2023, saying he told Woodward repeatedly that the interviews were meant solely for the book. Woodward said he never agreed to that restriction.
The $49.98 million damages request was based on what Trump’s lawyers called projected sales of 2 million audiobooks at $24.99 each.
Paramount sold Simon & Schuster in October 2023 to private equity firm KKR for $1.62 billion in cash.
