According to Bloomberg, Donald Trump has sued Bob Woodward and Simon & Schuster for $49M for releasing a manipulated and edited audiobook of twenty interviews. The lawsuit is based on damages for copyright infringement. The recordings are of 20 interviews between Woodward and Trump in 2019 and 2020.
Woodward released an 8-hour audiobook of the recordings, crediting Trump as narrator, but without compensation or permission. Donald Trump says key portions were edited out to further a narrative.
Donald Trump’s lawyers stated, “This case centers on Mr. Woodward’s systematic usurpation, manipulation, and exploitation of audio of President Trump.”
IF TRUE, THEY EDITED THE “UNEDITED” AUDIOBOOK
The marketing material for the audiobook claims the recordings are “raw” or unedited. Following is one excerpt cited in the lawsuit with crossed-out portions indicating sections that Woodward and his publisher allegedly edited out that were pulled by Sharyl Attkisson from the lawsuit.
Trump: Ready? The Whistleblower Report… Woodward: You, you…
Trump: Okay, before I do the transcript… Woodward: You know me well enough … Trump: I know, I know…
Woodward: …to know that I’m neutral…
Trump: …and I think, but I think you’re wrong. Okay, ready?
Woodward: Okay.
Trump: The Whistleblower Report—before you ever heard of a transcript… Woodward: Yeah, yeah.
Trump: …it was given to Congress… Woodward: It doesn’t have any standard. Trump: It blew up…
Woodward: Yeah.
Trump: It blew up. We were getting, and all we had—it was going to be a disaster. Woodward: But it’s not truth.
Trump: It was a false report written by a guy whose lawyer is a scumbag, okay? A real scumbag. Look at the background of these people.
Woodward: Yeah.
Trump: The Whistleblower Report was a fraud.
It doesn’t look like raw, unedited audiotapes in the audiobook!
Okay, it blew up. It was going to be a disaster. Schiff got up before the United States Congress, and he gave a false statement on what I said.
Woodward: I totally understand that, I understand that.
Trump: If I didn’t put out, if I didn’t put out…
Woodward: Okay.
Trump: …this very innocent conversation I had with the President of Ukraine, who then confirmed the conversation, saying there was no pressure put on a Whistleblower. Woodward: Okay, you’re willing to have this conversation, and you know me well enough. I’m, I really want to understand in a comprehensive…
Trump: But you haven’t even read the Whistleblower…
Woodward: …and let me share that…
Trump: …but you haven’t read the Whistleblower Report.
Woodward: No, no, no, but that’s, it’s not…
Trump: You can’t have this conversation.
Woodward: But it’s not evidence. It’s…
Trump: Do you understand what I’m saying?
Gidley: Of course…
Woodward: Yeah, yeah, it’s not…
Gidley: Of course…
Trump: Now I know you’re…do you agree?
Gidley: We were at UNGA, Mr. President…
Trump: If I didn’t have…
Gidley: …and that’s all I was getting, was questions about this Report…
Trump: The Wh—
Woodward: Okay, yeah.
Gidley: all I was getting…
Trump: Let me ask you…
Gidley: …for days, all the deals.
Reference to Biden corruption was allegedly deleted from the audiobook
Trump: So, I have an innocent conversation—Do us, the United States, a favor, and then I say, our Country. I don’t say…
Woodward: I understand.
Trump: …my Campaign. I say, our Country. And then I say the Attorney General of the United States, okay?
And, by the way, if anybody looked at that horrible tape with Biden, you’d fully understand that, and he brought up the name Rudy Giuliani, by the way, he did—the President.
Woodward: Okay.
Trump: I didn’t bring it up. Okay, ready?
If I didn’t have that very accurate transcription, and now it’s been proven to be accurate, because even the Lieutenant Colonel’s agreed that it was accurate. Okay, so, you know, I don’t know, I think it would have been a disaster.
You were getting killed.
Gidley: Killed.
Trump: The only reason I and, by the way, I got approval from Ukraine before I did it, because I was very, I said—Geez, you know, it’s a terrible thing to do. A terrible thing to do. So, we called Ukraine. We said—Do you mind if we release this conversation? And we got approval. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to release it.
SKETCHY PEOPLE
Woodward allegedly has a history of lying. He allegedly lied about Watergate, John Belushi, Bill Casey, and Iran Contra.
Woodward, an editor and reporter for the Washington Post, has published several attack books on the Trump White House, including “Rage” and “Peril.”
Perfectly awful Lindsey Graham reportedly brokered the meeting with Trump and Bob Woodward. It was a foolish mistake to listen to Graham.
In a joint statement, Woodward and Simon & Schuster said Trump’s lawsuit is “without merit,” and they will “aggressively” defend against it.
“All these interviews were on the record and recorded with President Trump’s knowledge and agreement,” the statement said.
“Moreover, it is in the public interest to have this historical record in Trump’s own words. We are confident that the facts and the law are in our favor.”
But is the audiobook a historical record?
They didn’t mention the editing of the audiobook they said was unedited.
READ THE LAWSUIT HERE OR BELOW
Trump v Woodward by M Dowling on Scribd
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