The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump filed a $50 million lawsuit on January 30, 2023, in federal court in Pensacola, Florida, accusing Bob Woodward, Simon & Schuster and Paramount Global of using interview recordings from Woodward’s book project without proper authorization. The complaint said Trump agreed to be recorded for the purpose of a single book, but not for a separate audiobook release built from those tapes. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/53dcfbc89e233a4ef38ac015fc3d377e?utm_source=openai))

The lawsuit centers on recordings made during interviews for Woodward’s book “Rage” and on the later release of “The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward’s Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump.” According to the filing, Trump says the defendants went beyond the consent he gave for the interviews and violated his rights by packaging the audio as a commercial product. CNBC’s coverage of the complaint said Trump alleged he had repeatedly stated the recordings were for the sole purpose of a book. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/53dcfbc89e233a4ef38ac015fc3d377e?utm_source=openai))

Woodward and Simon & Schuster rejected the case in a joint statement reported the next day, saying the interviews were on the record and were recorded with Trump’s knowledge and agreement. They said the public interest favored preserving Trump’s words as part of the historical record. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/53dcfbc89e233a4ef38ac015fc3d377e?utm_source=openai))

The filing followed a familiar pattern for Trump: taking disputes over recorded or written records into court and arguing that his side of the exchange was used beyond the scope he intended. This case was not about whether he spoke to Woodward. It was about who could control the recordings afterward, and whether Trump had any legal claim to limit how they were published. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/53dcfbc89e233a4ef38ac015fc3d377e?utm_source=openai))