Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

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."
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: “The Current Welfare State Can No Longer Be Financed”
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
Wizz Air passengers screamed as storm-battered flight diverts to Bologna
European postal services halt U.S. deliveries after Trump imposes new tariffs
Urban explorer finds abandoned luxury restaurant left to decay
Fidesz leader labels Péter Magyar a ‘bluffer’ amid escalating political spat
French rope park operator arrested for denying entry to Israeli children
Újpest thrashes Zalaegerszeg 4-1 to secure first win in five matches
Profit-margin cap costs retailers 13 billion forints a month, warns trade group
Curiosity rover finds coral-like rock on Mars hinting at watery past
U.S. green policy rollback drives investors to Europe’s sustainable finance market
Special funerals rise in Hungary: boat, aerial and forest burials gain popularity
Hungary’s Kiskunság region turning into semi-desert after extreme drought
Kopasz Bálint wins world kayak 1000 m title in Milan, making him triple world champion
Budapest’s Keleti railway station to close for four weeks for track overhaul
Balaton could be unfit for swimming by 2035 and dry by 2050, scientists warn
Leaked guidelines show Meta’s AI allowed flirty and racist interactions with children
Filming of ‘Emily in Paris’ halted after assistant director dies on set
Filipino guest workers sue after Hungary moves to deport them for pregnancy
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
A monster hit and a billion-dollar toy empire
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
Canada: Nurse Suspended and Fined 93 Thousand Dollars After Stating the World’s Most Well-Known Fact Since the Creation of Adam and Eve, That There Are Only Two Genders
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Whitney Bessent Backs Stablecoins to Boost Treasury Demand
Spain to Declare Disaster Zones After Massive Wildfires
Three-Minute Battery Swap Touted as Future of EVs
Beijing Military Parade to Showcase Weapons Advances
×