Trump files $50 million lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward for publishing interview footage

Former President Trump is suing veteran journalist Bob Woodward for copyright infringement. Trump alleges that Woodward, who interviewed the former president for his 2020 book, released audio recordings of their exchange without Trump’s consent.

In the lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida’s Northern District, Trump is seeking nearly $50 million in damages from Woodward, publisher Simon & Schuster Inc., and Paramount Global, the publisher’s parent company.

Trump claims he did not consent to the release of 19 taped interviews conducted for Woodward’s 2020 book, Rage. The recorded interviews, conducted between 2019 and 2020, were finally released in audio book format by Simon & Schuster last year.

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Former President Trump, left, sat down with veteran journalist Bob Woodward for 19 interviews between 2019 and 2020.

Woodward’s The Trump Tapes audiobook contains 8 hours of interviews with Trump conducted between 2016 and 2020, plus Woodward’s commentary.

The former commander-in-chief claims he agreed to record his exchanges with Woodward for the “sole purpose that Woodward may write a single book,” according to the 31-page complaint.

Trump’s legal team won $50 million in damages by assuming 2 million sales of the $24.99 audiobook.

“With the release of ‘Rage,’ Woodward clearly hoped to repeat the success of ‘Fear,’ but he didn’t. Faced with the reality that ‘Rage’ was a complete failure, Woodward decided to exploit, usurp and capitalize on President Trump’s voice by releasing the interview audio recordings of their interviews with President Trump in audio book form.” says the lawsuit.

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Former President Trump ran for the third time after the November 2022 midterm elections.
(SAUL LOEB/AFP)

The former president also alleges that Woodward misrepresented at least one of their conversations by excising portions of the interview.

“Former President Trump’s lawsuit is unfounded and we will aggressively defend it. All of these interviews were on file and recorded with the knowledge and consent of President Trump. Additionally, it is in the public interest to have this historical record in Trump’s own words. We are confident that the facts and the law are in our favor,” Woodward and Simon & Schuster said in a joint statement on the lawsuit.

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The lawsuit comes amid Trump’s third run for the White House as he currently faces no other GOP challengers. The former president visited South Carolina and New Hampshire, both early battleground states in the presidential primary process, over the weekend.