DOJ withdraws subpoenas to NY Times reporters in Trump plane probe

Ministry of Justice withdraws subpoenas New York Times Prosecutors told a federal judge in New York on Thursday that journalists were involved in an article about President Donald Trump’s new Air Force One jet.

According to MS NOW, the move came during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where Judge Arun Subramanian warned prosecutor Sean Buckley that he would quash the subpoenas at the request of The Times if the Justice Department did not withdraw them.

“Why isn’t this the right outcome?” Subramanian asked Buckley, who argued at length that the subpoenas were legally issued.

The Justice Department issued subpoenas on July 10 to force Times reporters to testify before a federal grand jury, the newspaper reported. Many of the subpoenas were delivered to reporters’ homes by federal agents.

The subpoena was issued by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, whom Trump appointed as director of national intelligence. Clayton was asked about the subpoenas during his Senate confirmation hearing on July 15.

The Times reported Monday that the Justice Department told the newspaper late last week that it had “sent subpoenas to third-party phone service providers seeking phone and text message records of several journalists.” A reporter’s mother’s phone records were targeted in a subpoena, according to the newspaper.

CNBC requested comment from the Justice Department and The Times on the withdrawal of the subpoenas.

The investigation comes after the Times reported security concerns about Trump’s new Air Force One plane donated by Qatar.

The Times reported on July 8 that Trump flew from Türkiye that day “on the old Air Force One rather than the new Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar as a security precaution against the resumption of hostilities with Iran.”

Citing people who provided information about the capabilities of the new aircraft, the newspaper reported that “the new aircraft does not have all the features of the old aircraft” in terms of safety.

“The appearance of federal law enforcement on news reporters’ doorsteps should shock the conscience of every American who believes in the Constitution and the freedom of the press it protects,” The Times attorney David McCraw said in a July 11 statement.

“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American people’s right to know how their government works and how taxpayer dollars are used,” McCraw said.

“This brazen action should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from learning what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”

In testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence last week, Clayton said he could not go into details of the investigation into the Air Force One article.

“I am confident that the procedures we have in place to protect the First Amendment and freedom of the press will not lead to the intimidation of journalists,” Clayton said.

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