A federal judge on Friday dismissed President Trump’s lawsuit against famed Watergate journalist Bob Woodward for publishing audio tapes of interviews he conducted with Trump for a 2020 book.
U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe’s ruling comes a year and a half after Woodward and his publisher asked the judge to dismiss the suit. Trump’s attorneys had long complained about the lack of progress, repeatedly urging Gardephe to rule.
An appointee of former President George W. Bush, Gardephe rejected Trump’s arguments that he is a joint author of the tapes and ruled that even if he wasn’t, the interview responses are protected copyright.
“There is almost no support in the case law for the notion that an interviewee has a copyright interest in his responses to interview questions, and such a conclusion would run counter to animating principles of the Copyright Act,” the judge pushed back.
The judge also dismissed Trump’s state law claims, ruling those were preempted by federal copyright law.
“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,” a spokesman for Trump’s legal team said in a statement.
Trump sued Woodward in January 2023 after giving him 19 interviews for his book, “Rage.”
The lawsuit conceded Trump gave the interviews and permitted Woodward to record them, but the complaint claimed the journalist and his publisher were not authorized to sell the audio recordings themselves.
The $49 million lawsuit named Woodward, Simon & Schuster and its then-parent company, Paramount Global, as defendants. Paramount later sold the publishing giant to a private investment firm.
The Hill has reached out to Paramount for comment.
“We’re very pleased the Court agreed with us and dismissed the case,” Simon & Schuster said in a statement.
Trump’s attorney had repeatedly expressed frustration with the judge for mulling the dismissal motion for months without taking action.
Following Trump’s election, his attorneys kept pressing the judge to move ahead, but in December, the judge said he was “at work” on it and declined to expedite it further.
Updated at 8:54 p.m. EDT
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