(The Hill) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by President Trump against renowned Watergate journalist Bob Woodward. The lawsuit involved Woodward’s publication of audio recordings from interviews with Trump for a book released in 2020.
U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe delivered the decision nearly eighteen months after Woodward and his publisher sought to have the lawsuit thrown out. Trump’s legal team had consistently expressed frustration over the slow progress, urging Gardephe to issue a decision.
Gardephe, appointed by former President George W. Bush, disagreed with Trump’s claim that he was a co-author of the tapes. He also determined that even if Trump wasn’t considered a joint author, his interview responses were covered by copyright law.
“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 Simon & Schuster and Paramount for comment.
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.
