A federal decide on Friday dismissed President Trump’s lawsuit against famed Watergate journalist Bob Woodward for publishing audio tapes of interviews he performed with Trump for a 2020 guide.
U.S. District Choose Paul Gardephe’s ruling comes a yr and a half after Woodward and his writer requested the decide to dismiss the swimsuit. 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’s a joint creator of the tapes and dominated that even when he wasn’t, the interview responses are protected copyright.
“There may be nearly no assist within the case regulation for the notion that an interviewee has a copyright curiosity in his responses to interview questions, and such a conclusion would run counter to animating rules of the Copyright Act,” the decide pushed again.
The decide additionally dismissed Trump’s state regulation claims, ruling these have been preempted by federal copyright regulation.
“In one other biased motion by a New York Courtroom, this wrongful determination was issued with out even affording President Trump the fundamental due means of a listening to. We’ll proceed to make sure that those that commit wrongdoing in opposition to President Trump and all Individuals are held accountable,” a spokesman for Trump’s authorized staff stated in a press release.
Trump sued Woodward in January 2023 after giving him 19 interviews for his guide, “Rage.”
The lawsuit conceded Trump gave the interviews and permitted Woodward to document them, however the criticism claimed the journalist and his writer weren’t licensed to promote the audio recordings themselves.
The $49 million lawsuit named Woodward, Simon & Schuster and its then-parent firm, Paramount World, as defendants. Paramount later bought the publishing big to a personal funding agency.
The Hill has reached out to Paramount for remark.
“We’re more than happy the Courtroom agreed with us and dismissed the case,” Simon & Schuster stated in a press release.
Trump’s legal professional had repeatedly expressed frustration with the decide for mulling the dismissal movement for months with out taking motion.
Following Trump’s election, his attorneys saved urgent the decide to maneuver forward, however in December, the decide stated he was “at work” on it and declined to expedite it additional.
Up to date at 8:54 p.m. EDT