The former president of the United States is suing writer Bob Woodward over interview transcripts that, according to Trump, he didn’t consent to being used in an audiobook.
Trump acknowledges that he agreed for Woodward to record their conversations for the sake of a book and that he granted the seasoned journalist 19 interviews between 2019 and 2020, which Woodward used as source material for his book “Rage” in 2020.
The inclusion of those audio files in “The Trump Tapes,” an audiobook compilation of the recordings released by Simon & Schuster Inc. last year, is not covered by the agreement, according to the former president.
Woodward and Simon & Schuster Inc. are defendants in the complaint, which was filed in the Pensacola division of the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida. It demands damages totaling more than $49 million.
Donald Trump has sued journalist Bob Woodward for copyright violations, claiming Woodward released audio from their interviews without the former president's consent https://t.co/Tpy8eZfRdh
— CNN (@CNN) January 31, 2023
“This case centers on Mr. Woodward’s systematic usurpation, manipulation, and exploitation of audio of President Trump gathered in connection with a series of interviews conducted by Mr. Woodward. 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 damage,” Trump’s camp disputes the filing.
Several accusations, including unjust enrichment, violation of Florida trade law, and breach of contract, are being pursued by Trump’s legal team against the defendants. The complaint asserts at one point that the audiobook’s editing caused one of the pair’s interviews to be distorted.
In contrast to his usual practice, Florida resident Trump has chosen to file this lawsuit in the Northern District, where the defendants’ offices are located.
