Justice Department subpoenas New York Times reporters over Air Force One security reporting
The Facts
- The Trump administration issued subpoenas on Friday to several New York Times journalists after the paper reported on security concerns involving the new Air Force One.
- The subpoenas seek to require the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday.
- The new Air Force One at the center of the reporting is a jet President Donald Trump received from Qatar, and it entered service last week.
- The New York Times said federal agents delivered some of the subpoenas to reporters at their homes.
- Multiple outlets reported that four Times journalists were among those subpoenaed: Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt.
- The subpoenas target journalists over reporting that raised questions about the aircraft’s security measures, including whether the plane had been sufficiently retrofitted for presidential use.
- As of the cited reports, the White House and the Justice Department had not immediately responded to requests for comment.
Context
Why were the reporters subpoenaed?
According to the cited reports, the subpoenas came after The New York Times published stories about security concerns involving the new Air Force One, including questions about whether the aircraft had all needed protective systems for presidential travel NYT,NY Post,Hill.
What are the subpoenas requiring?
The subpoenas seek to compel the journalists to appear before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday and testify; the Times also said some subpoenas were delivered by federal agents at reporters’ homes Twin Cities,CNN International,Daily News.
What remains unresolved?
The underlying Times report on the aircraft’s security concerns was described by several outlets as not independently confirmed, and the White House and Justice Department had not publicly responded in the reviewed coverage, leaving the government’s rationale and response to the reporting unclear CBS News,Times of Israel,Business Standard.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Compelling Times reporters to testify about published security reporting, with some subpoenas delivered at home, turns scrutiny of a presidential aircraft into a test of state power.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about intimidation of journalists examining public-safety concerns, or about keeping executive power within due-process bounds when investigating presidential security decisions.
How left and right read it
What stands out here is the use of subpoenas and a federal grand jury to force New York Times journalists to testify after they reported security concerns about a presidential aircraft received from Qatar and put into service last week. When federal agents are delivering some of those subpoenas to reporters’ homes, the power imbalance is the story: scrutiny of public-safety questions is being met with state pressure on the people doing the scrutiny.
What matters here is the government’s use of compulsory process against named reporters over published reporting on security questions surrounding a presidential aircraft already in service. Subpoenas demanding grand-jury testimony, with some delivered at reporters’ homes, put executive power and due-process restraint squarely at issue in a case involving scrutiny of presidential security decisions.
The receipts — all 50 sources
Wire services (7)
Independent coverage (43)
Facts first. Then every angle.
The day’s biggest stories in one short brief — the facts everyone agrees on, then the competing values behind the headlines. Free in your inbox.