Trump subpoenas journalists over Air Force One security fears leak: Report

The Trump administration has reportedly issued subpoenas to several New York Times journalists after the newspaper reported on security concerns involving President Donald Trump’s new Air Force One, a Qatari-donated Boeing 747.

According to The Times, the subpoenas were issued Friday and seek to compel the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday. The newspaper said federal agents delivered some of the subpoenas directly to reporters’ homes.

The journalists who received subpoenas included Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt, The Times reported. It said they were involved in coverage this week that said Trump departed Turkey on an older Air Force One aircraft “as a security precaution at the urging of the Secret Service.”

A follow-up report said the newer Qatari-donated plane lacked some advanced security features found on the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. Both stories relied on anonymous sources discussing sensitive security matters, it added.

‘Alleged Violation of Federal Criminal Law’

The subpoenas, according to The Times, offered few details, saying only that the reporters were being called to testify “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.” They were issued by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, who was recently nominated by Trump to serve as director of national intelligence, the newspaper said.

Newsweek has not been able to independently verify the report.

A spokesperson for The Times told Newsweek on Saturday said they had no additional comments to make.

A Justice Department spokesperson told Newsweek via email: “Every administration has addressed the crime of leaking national security information. To the extent that we have to investigate breaches of national security, that’s something that we will continue to do. To be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.

“We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information.

“We recognize there may always be natural tension there, but we are not going to ignore the law and stop investigating the people who work in the administration and think it’s okay to leak classified information impacting national security.”

Threat to the Constitution and Press Freedom

David McCraw, newsroom lawyer for The Times, strongly condemned the move.

“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” McCraw said in a statement quoted by the paper.

McCraw said the action 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.”

He added that Times reporters “report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used.”

The dispute followed reporting on Trump’s use of the new Air Force One during a trip linked to the NATO summit in Turkey. CBS News reported that Trump switched to an older aircraft for part of the journey before returning to the newer jet for the flight home to Joint Base Andrews.

According to The Times, before its Wednesday article was published, a senior FBI official contacted the newspaper and asked that it be held on national security grounds, but declined to explain the concern when asked.

Freedom of the Press Foundation chief of advocacy Seth Stern said in a statement emailed to Newsweek: “We’ve long said that when the government claims it needs to investigate journalists to protect national security, it really means its own reputational security. This is as clear an example as you can get.

“The administration’s embarrassment that it reportedly charged taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to retrofit a flying bribe that still isn’t secure enough for hostile times does not supersede the need for a free and independent press. These kinds of stories show us exactly why we need to protect journalists and whistleblowers—without them, we’d never know about this sort of waste and incompetence.”

Other Press Clashes Under Trump

The administration has also clashed with The Associated Press (AP). Newsweek previously reported that AP went to court after being barred from some White House coverage because it refused to adopt Trump’s preferred renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. AP argued the ban was retaliation over editorial language choices.

In another case, the White House removed a Wall Street Journal reporter from the press pool for a Trump Scotland trip after the paper published a disputed story involving Jeffrey Epstein. AP reported that the move followed Trump’s lawsuit against the newspaper and Rupert Murdoch.