Justice Department subpoenas New York Times reporters over Air Force One security story
The U.S. Justice Department issued grand-jury subpoenas to several New York Times journalists after the paper reported alleged security shortcomings of the president’s Qatar-gifted aircraft, prompting criticism from press-freedom groups.
The Justice Department delivered subpoenas to four New York Times reporters on Friday, ordering them to appear before a Manhattan federal grand jury later that week. The subpoenas follow the newspaper’s report that the president’s newly acquired Air Force One, a $400 million gift from Qatar, may lack certain anti-missile and other protective systems present on older jets. The Times said agents handed the subpoenas to the journalists at their homes.
A Justice Department statement said the subpoenas relate to an investigation of “breaches of national security” and emphasized that “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”
Press-freedom advocates condemned the action. The National Press Club called the subpoenas a threat to the constitutional right to an independent press and urged the department to withdraw them. Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said the government’s claim of protecting national security “really means its own reputational security.”
New York Times lawyer David McCraw warned that the presence of federal agents at journalists’ doorsteps “should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects.”
The Times report, based on anonymous sources, noted that the Qatari-gifted jet was used for a July 1 maiden flight to North Dakota and later to a NATO summit in Turkey, after which President Trump returned partially on an older Air Force One amid heightened tensions with Iran. The White House denied any security deficiencies, describing the aircraft as “state-of-the-art” and saying it had “high-level security protocols.”
According to the Times, a senior FBI official had previously asked the paper to delay the story for national-security reasons but did not provide details. The subpoenas come amid earlier Justice Department attempts to compel testimony from journalists at other outlets, which were later withdrawn after legal challenges.