Trump justice department subpoenas NYT journalists after Air Force One security reports
Four New York Times journalists were ordered to testify before a federal grand jury next week after they detailed missing anti-missile defences on the Qatar-donated presidential aircraft and the Secret Service’s decision to fly Trump home from the NATO summit on the older plane.
What the journalists reported
On Wednesday, reporters Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt wrote that Donald Trump left the NATO summit in Ankara aboard the older Air Force One, following a Secret Service recommendation citing security concerns about the newly delivered jet. The next day, the Times reported that the replacement Boeing 747-8, donated by the government of Qatar, lacked advanced security features present in the previous aircraft, most notably anti‑missile capabilities. Both articles relied on anonymous sources who described the sensitive security gaps.
Before publication, a senior FBI official contacted the Times and asked the paper to hold the Wednesday story, characterising it as a national‑security matter. The newspaper proceeded with its reporting.
Subpoenas and the response
On Friday, federal agents delivered subpoenas to the homes of the four journalists. The documents, issued by U.S. attorney in Manhattan Jay Clayton (recently nominated by Trump as director of national intelligence), demand the reporters appear before a grand jury on Wednesday 15 July and testify “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.” The subpoenas contain few further details.
David McCraw, the Times’ senior vice president and deputy general counsel, said in a 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 added that the act was “nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”
A widening crackdown on the press
The subpoenas are the latest in a series of enforcement actions against media outlets during Trump’s second term. In January, federal agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, seizing phones and laptops, while she had reported extensively on the administration’s civil‑service overhaul. Earlier this year, the Justice Department also issued (and later withdrew) similar subpoenas to journalists from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Press‑freedom advocates argue that such moves are unusual and discourage sources from speaking to reporters.
- Trump departs NATO summit in Ankara on old Air Force One after Secret Service recommendation.
- NYT reports Trump used older plane because of security concerns with the new jet.
- NYT reports new Air Force One lacks anti‑missile capabilities and other advanced security features.
- Federal agents deliver grand‑jury subpoenas to four NYT journalists at their homes.
- Reporters scheduled to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan.
Trump and the White House have rejected the security concerns. The president denied that the aircraft change was linked to threats from Iran, and White House spokesman Steven Cheung called the new plane a top‑of‑the‑line machine with a high level of protection. The Times, meanwhile, filed a countersuit on Friday against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that a reverse‑discrimination claim was retaliation for its coverage.
