Donald Trump Sues Bob Woodward, Simon & Schuster Over Release Of Interview Audio Recordings

deadline.com:

Donald Trump has found a new avenue to sue the media: Copyright. He filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday, alleging that Bob Woodward and his publisher, Simon & Schuster, needed his permission before releasing the audio book, The Trump Tapes, last year.

The audiobook is a collection of 20 interviews that Woodward conducted with Trump. “Said audio was protected material, subject to various limitations on use and distribution—as a matter of copyright, license, contract, basic principles of the publishing industry, and core values of fairness and consent,” according to the lawsuit. (Read it here).

Among other things, Woodward interviewed Trump for his book Rage, released in 2020. The book was a bombshell, as Trump admitted that he wanted to play down the Covid threat in the early weeks of the pandemic.

The lawsuit names Woodward, Simon & Schuster and the publisher’s parent Paramount Global as defendants. Trump claims that the defendants’ “ongoing concerted efforts to profit off the protected audio recordings and the works they have distributed derived from the protected audio recordings have caused President Trump to sustain substantial damages, necessitating the institution of this action.” Trump is seeking at least $49.98 million in damages.