Four New York Times journalists received subpoenas from the Justice Department this week after reporting on security concerns about President Trump's new Air Force One. The reporters are Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt.
According to Deadline, the subpoenas ask the reporters to testify before a grand jury on Wednesday. The documents contain few details beyond stating they were issued in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law. Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, issued the subpoenas.
The Times reported that Trump left the NATO summit in Turkey aboard the old Air Force One rather than the new aircraft, a Boeing 747-8 donated by the government of Qatar. The reporters' story detailed security concerns about the new plane, including the absence of antimissile capabilities. An FBI official had asked the Times to hold the story, characterizing it as a national security issue.
David McCraw, senior vice president and deputy general counsel at the Times, responded with a public statement. "The appearance of Federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects," he said. McCraw added, "Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public's right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used. This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs."
The Justice Department did not immediately return a request for comment.
The subpoenas are the latest in a series of confrontations between the Trump administration and press organizations. In January, federal agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, seizing phones and laptops as part of an investigation into a government contractor. Natanson had reported extensively on Trump's treatment of the federal workforce.
The Times itself has been active on multiple legal fronts. On Friday it filed a countersuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that a reverse discrimination complaint against the paper was retaliation for its news reporting. The Times has also challenged new press restrictions at the Pentagon, and a federal judge has so far ruled that those restrictions violate the First Amendment.
The reporters subpoenaed this week are due before the grand jury on Wednesday. No charges have been announced.
