Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Trump's $49 million lawsuit threatens free speech, could 'chill open discourse,' attorneys for Bob Woodward argue

Trump's $49 million lawsuit threatens free speech, could 'chill open discourse,' attorneys for Bob Woodward argue

Trump sued Woodward in January, claiming ownership over recordings of interviews he participated in.
A victory for Donald Trump in federal court would be a blow against freedom, encouraging powerful politicians and others to use the guise of copyright to censor their critics and a"chill open discourse," lawyers for journalist Bob Woodward argued Monday as part of a legal battle over who owns the words that came out of the former president's mouth while he was in office.

In January, Trump sued the legendary reporter for The Washington Post in a Florida federal court after he published audio recordings of interviews he had conducted with the former president, dubbed "The Trump Tapes."

An attorney for Trump, who is seeking more than $49 million, argued that the publication violated an alleged verbal contract that Woodward had made to only use the interviews for one, written book, "Rage," published on the eve of the 2020 election — and that Trump, as the subject of the interviews, was in fact the rightful owner of the copyright over the recordings and thus entitled to at least half the proceeds.

Legal experts previously told Insider that Trump was unlikely to win the case, arguing that, above all, courts would be hesitant to establish a thorny precedent that could grant politicians legal ownership over comments they made while in office (and the ensuing right to block their publication). Some speculated that the lawsuit was filed, primarily, as a means of demonstrating Trump's annoyance over embarrassing material being made public — and lending it the veneer of legitimacy. As one publishing industry lawyer said of the former president's legal action: "It's a press release designed as a complaint."

Attorneys for Woodward, his publisher, Simon & Shuster, and parent company Paramount say the case should just be thrown out.

In a motion to dismiss, filed Monday, lawyers for the defendants note that the former president never filed his own copyright registration for the works in question. And, they argue, it would not even matter if he did because government employees simply cannot claim ownership of things they said to a journalist while in public office.

The alternative — upholding a politician's ownership claim over a journalist's interviews — would threaten the right to free speech, the attorneys state.

"Such a regime would give President Trump and other public officials interviewed by the press the right to sue over any critical or unwelcome use of their statements," the attorneys wrote in another filing laying out the legal case behind their motion to dismiss. "Copyright equates to legal control over expression and requiring journalists to negotiate authorship rights away from interviewees, particularly public officials, would invite contractual censorship of criticism and chill open discourse."

The question is not an abstract one, either, coming just as Trump has been indicted on multiple felony counts in Manhattan.

"Any decision granting President Trump private ownership of his statements to the press as President would stymie discussion of his place in American history and contradict the long tradition of opening up a President's words to public scrutiny," the attorneys argue.

Lawyers for Woodward and his publisher are also seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds that Trump filed it in an improper venue, arguing that it should be heard instead — if at all — in Washington, DC, where many of the interviews were conducted.

An attorney for Trump, Robert Garson, accused the defendants of disguising a cash grab behind rhetoric about the public good. The former president, he maintained, has a right to own his responses in the Woodward interviews, but was unable to file a copyright claim himself because he didn't have his own copies of the recordings.

But Garson conceded that the case is not a typical copyright dispute, given the parties, and that the law is in some respects murky when it comes to public figures and intellectual property.

"The one thing you can say is this case, like many others with Trump, is a first," Garson told Insider. "It's going to be an interesting one, that's for sure."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×