DOJ Retreats After Overreach: Subpoenas Against New York Times Reporters in Trump Air Force One Scandal Withdrawn
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The Justice Department was forced to back down from its authoritarian attempt to intimidate New York Times journalists, rescinding subpoenas after a federal judge intervened. The probe, linked to reporting on President Trump's controversial new Air Force One, underscores the ongoing assault on press freedom by Trump-aligned officials.
On Thursday, the Justice Department was compelled to withdraw subpoenas it had aggressively served on New York Times reporters, targeting their coverage of President Donald Trump’s acquisition of a new Air Force One jet. This retreat occurred during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan, who made it clear to prosecutor Sean Buck that the subpoenas would be quashed at the newspaper’s request if the DOJ did not back down.
The subpoenas, issued on July 10 by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton—a Trump nominee for director of national intelligence—were a blatant attempt to force journalists to testify before a federal grand jury and to seize their phone and text records from third-party providers. In a disturbing escalation, one subpoena even targeted the phone records of a reporter’s mother, highlighting the administration’s willingness to trample civil liberties in pursuit of its agenda.
The Times reported that this heavy-handed move came after its reporting on security concerns with the new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8, which lacks critical features present in the older aircraft. Federal agents delivered the subpoenas directly to reporters’ homes, a clear act of intimidation.
“I am confident that the procedures that we have in place to protect the First Amendment and protect the freedom of the press, and not result in intimidation of journalists,” claimed Jay Clayton during his Senate confirmation hearing, a statement starkly contradicted by these actions.
Neither the DOJ nor the Times offered further comment on the withdrawal. This episode is yet another example of the Trump administration’s ongoing hostility toward the free press and the dangerous erosion of constitutional protections in the name of political expediency.