By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump cannot pursue his nearly $50 million lawsuit against the journalist Bob Woodward for publishing tapes from interviews for his 2020 best-seller “Rage” as an audiobook, a federal judge ruled on Friday.
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.
They had argued that federal law barred the U.S. president from copyrighting interviews conducted as part of his official duties, and that no president before him ever demanded royalties for publishing presidential interviews.
The defendants 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 was interviewed by Woodward 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.
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.
The case is Trump v Simon & Schuster Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 23-06883.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York)
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