Trumpy is feeling his oats and just as we expected his bullying $15 million out of ABC was only the start for him. Every news outlet that he thinks has been “unfair” to him knows he’ll be filing against them in the foreseeable future. Why Trump would choose to take on Bob Woodward is for me at least a mystery. Woodward is old. I mean OLD. He’s plenty rich and can afford the kind of legal talent Trump can only dream of. Most importantly Woodward has a long, long career and vast experience dealing with VIPs including Presidents. Before he speaks or writes about a subject he’s going to make damned sure if they don’t like what he says he’s on rock solid legal ground.
Woodward is about the last person Trump should be wanting to take on in court. I couldn’t understand why he bothered when he filed some time back. The whole matter got hung up in a motion for dismissal and has languished there for months. However Trump has decided to push the issue according to this article from The Hill. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised since he’s asking for several times in damages than he got from ABC. Trump told reporters he planned to go after others and sure enough a day later he made good on his threat:
“Since President Trump’s decisive victory resulting him being due to become the 47th President of the United States, there has been a renewed accountability among those who violated his rights over the last four years,” Trump attorney Robert Garson wrote in Tuesday’s letter.
Garson went on to note how ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos on Saturday apologized and paid $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit.
“President Trump is hopeful that the Defendants in this case follow Mr. Stephanopoulos’ expression of contrition,” the letter reads
Oh, Trump also has filed suit against Iowa pollster Ann Seltzer for releasing a poll indicating Trump would lose that state. Like a pollster is liable for respondents being too ashamed to admit they intend to vote for a despicable P.O.S. like Trump. Given her stellar reputation I’m sure her data is impeccable and her lawyer will eat Trump’s for lunch when they get before a judge. But she’s not all that well known and Woodward is.
The thing is, Bob Woodward isn’t the least bit afraid of Trump. At issue are notes and recordings Woodward obtained permission to make during their interviews. The issue of Woodward not making a good chunk of what he learned in the late winter/spring of 2020 and the number of people who died is a separate issue. That’s a major journalistic failure on Woodward’s part – he wanted to wait until fall when telling what he knew would pump up book sales. Well, his reputation will be forever tainted because of that but it doesn’t change the important part.
The IMPORTANT part is that Woodward would have made sure his own ass was COMPLETELY covered in a couple of ways when it came to those notes and recordings. First he’d have secured a rock solid agreement it was okay to make all those notes and recordings. Second, and what matters now is that those notes and recordings would be his to use and report on as he pleased. Trump says ‘no fair’ that Woodward and his publisher put out those recordings and made some money in the process.
However I again note that unlike Trump both Woodward and Simon & Schuster have top-notch legal representation. Trump the con man is I believed being conned out of some legal fees for what I think will turn out to be thrown out of court. Probably even deemed a frivolous lawsuit and the judge ordering Trump to pay the defendant’s legal fees. I wish them luck on collecting but that’s not important at the moment.
Trump is hunting for proverbial Big Game’ going after Woodward. It’s a losing proposition and I can guarantee you in the executive suites of major news outlets (and their lawyer’s offices too) this development is front and center. Judges with their oversized egos like sitting back and being all mysterious, taking their sweet-ass time to issue rulings. This could be an exception. Trump would of course pitch a fit if the case got thrown out but if the judge decides to do just that then doing so before Trump is sworn in in a month is a no brainer. Trump will have confirmation battles and all manner of other stuff on his plate after all!
As for Woodward, I doubt he has any concerns at all. In fact he’s probably thinking ‘bring it on’ because that will pump up his book sales! Losing, as in the case being dismissed would be a clear case of Trump shooting himself in the foot. And, more importantly perhaps help news outlets grow some spine. As for ABC to hell with them.
The statement from tRump’s lawyer is typical tRump, upside/down and backwards. That’s the world he lives in. I hope Bob Woodward cleans his clock.