Donald Trump sues Bob Woodward over interview audio recordings : NPR

Former President Donald Trump has made good on his menace to sue Bob Woodward over the Washington Publish journalist’s newest e-book, accusing him of releasing audio recordings of their interviews with out his consent and in search of practically $50 million in damages.

The lawsuit, filed Monday within the Northern District of Florida, additionally names writer Simon & Schuster and its dad or mum firm, Paramount World, as defendants. It accuses Woodward of the “systematic usurpation, manipulation, and exploitation of audio” in violation of Trump’s contractual rights and copyright pursuits.

At situation is the audiobook The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward’s Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trumpwhich was revealed in October 2022 and consists of recordings of greater than a dozen interviews the 2 had executed throughout Trump’s last 12 months in workplace.

These interviews — performed with Trump’s full cooperation on the White Home and Mar-a-Lago between December 2019 and August 2020 — shaped the premise of Woodward’s 2020 e-book rage. It made headlines for revealing, amongst different issues, the extent to which Trump had downplayed the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump alleges that when rage failed to achieve the identical degree of business success as WorryWoodward’s 2018 e-book centered on the Trump White Home, the journalist and writer “conspired to, and did, collate and cobble collectively greater than eight hours of ‘uncooked’ interviews” and launched them in audiobook format “with out President Trump’s permission.”

The lawsuit additionally accuses these concerned of unlawfully manipulating audio by selectively omitting parts of Trump’s solutions. Trump described it as “an open and blatant try to make me look as unhealthy as attainable,” in a series of Truth Social posts on Monday.

“Paramount, SSI, and Woodward deviated from business customary practices, didn’t acquire the required releases, misappropriated President Trump’s copyright pursuits, manipulated the recordings to learn Woodward’s desired narrative whereas peddling the story that the recordings have been ‘uncooked,’ and disadvantaged President Trump of the chance to publish or to not publish his phrases, learn in his voice,” the grievance reads.

The e-book has since been revealed in different varieties, together with a paperback and digital e-book. Primarily based on the value of every audiobook, the lawsuit is in search of greater than $49 million, not together with punitive damages and legal professional’s charges.

Woodward and Simon & Schuster have responded with a joint assertion calling the lawsuit “with out benefit” and promising to “aggressively defend towards it.”

“All these interviews have been on the document and recorded with President Trump’s data and settlement,” reads the assertion offered to NPR. “Furthermore, it’s within the public curiosity to have this historic document in Trump’s personal phrases. We’re assured that the information and the legislation are in our favour.”

The lawsuit is much from a shock — it is Trump’s MO

Trump mentioned on the time of the audiobook’s launch that he would sue Woodward — whom he known as “very sleazy” — to be compensated for the sale of tapes that he claims belong to him.

The lawsuit is Trump’s newest try to discredit journalists and others who’ve been essential of him.

“I’m persevering with my struggle towards this corrupt, dishonest, and deranged Pretend Information Media by submitting this lawsuit towards a person whose picture is much completely different from the actual fact, Bob Woodward, his writer Simon & Schuster, and their dad or mum firm, Paramount World, ” Trump, who has actively peddled election disinformation, wrote on Reality Social, including that “I’ll at all times champion TRUTH and battle towards the evil forces of disinformation and Pretend Information!”

In October 2022 Trump sued CNN for alleged defamation, in search of $475 million in damages. The next month he sued New York Legal professional Common Letitia James for intimidation.

That was one among two lawsuits Trump withdrew in latest weeks, after a Florida choose fined him and his legal professional practically $1 million for bringing what he deemed a “fully frivolous” lawsuit towards Hillary Clinton and different political rivals.

US District Decide Donald M. Middlebrooks accused Trump of a “sample of abuse of the courts” for submitting frivolous lawsuits for political functions, which he mentioned “undermines the rule of legislation” and “quantities to obstruction of justice,” because the Related Press reported earlier this month.

Trump and his enterprise have additionally been on the receiving finish of quite a few lawsuits.

Amongst them: A federal choose dominated earlier this month that author E. Jean Carroll can proceed with rape and defamation claims towards Trump and a New York court docket ordered two corporations owned by the previous president to pay $1.61 million in fines and penalties for tax fraud.

In the meantime, a grand jury in Manhattan is listening to proof this week about whether or not Trump dedicated crimes over hush cash funds to grownup movie actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.