The DOJ has subpoenaed four investigative journalists from the New York Times following an Air Force One story published by the organization. Donald Trump speaking at a public event, gesturing with his hand.
Trump arrived in Turkey on this new Air Force One but left on another© Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS
POTUS reportedly made rapid switches between the Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 and the old Air Force for security reasons during his round trip to the NATO summit in Turkiye. The four journalists detailed the security risks surrounding the new aircraft.
The named journalists are Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt. CNN reports that federal agents delivered the subpoenas directly to their private residences. A federal grand jury in Manhattan is compelling them to testify on Wednesday.
Media Backlash
Members of the press have condemned the subpoenas, calling them an attack on press freedoms.
David McCraw is the senior legal counsel for The New York Times. In a strongly worded statement, he rebuked the DOJ for the subpoenas, calling the act “an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country.”
Representatives from media institutions are seeking official statements from the White House and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York regarding the escalation.
No government agency has commented on the matter.
The Air Force One Controversy
Trump used the new Air Force One for the flight to Türkiye. The NYT reported that the Secret Service uncovered security concerns that forced Trump to leave the summit in the old Air Force One, but not to the USA.
The paper documented that from the summit, Trump went straight to Mildenhall, a Royal Air Force base in England. He then switched to the new plane for the flight home to Joint Base Andrews.
Connections have been made between the abrupt plane swaps and the Middle East volatility as multiple ceasefire agreements with Iran collapse.
The journalists asserted that the new Air Force One, a gift from Qatar, lacked the sophisticated security systems that would have been needed had Iran attempted to take out POTUS from the skies. These, including anti-missile capabilities, are a prominent feature of the old Air Force One, as pointed out by the NYT article.
The new aircraft from the government of Qatar is a repurposed commercial jetliner. Trump was first spotted using the aircraft on June 19 at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
In comparison, the legacy Air Force One is purposefully engineered for presidential safety. It’s fitted with defense infrastructure, unlike the retrofitted Qatari-gifted plane.
National Security Disclosures
Before the story went live, a senior official from the FBI reportedly contacted the NYT editorial board and asked them to kill the story for national security reasons. According to the NYT, the FBI official did not provide any further specifics.
The DOJ subpoenas similarly do not detail any details or factual areas of focus for the grand jury inquiry. The documentation simply states that prosecutors require the 4 reporters to testify regarding the alleged violation of criminal law.”
A History of Prosecutorial Leadership
The U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, who leads the influential Southern District of New York (SDNY), signed off on the subpoenas.
This makes the case more political than legal, as Trump recently nominated Clayton to serve as the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
Legal analysts have termed the use of subpoenas to intimidate journalists “an aggressive, zero-tolerance approach by the administration regarding information security and media disclosures.”
First Amendment defenders will likely file motions to quash the subpoenas.