Washington Post boasts it stared down Justice Department subpoena
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The Washington Post boasted that the Justice Department planned to “force” reporters to testify before a federal grand jury but withdrew the subpoenas after the newspaper objected to them.
Mail Published a story on Tuesday Reporter Ellen Nakashima received a grand jury subpoena this spring “related to sensitive reporting on a matter of national security,” he said, citing “a Justice Department official familiar with the matter.”
The Post reported that the paper, owned by Jeff Bezos, “fought the request in closed hearings in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia when the government rescinded Nakashima’s subpoena.” The newspaper also reported that, in addition to being related to national security, “the scope of the investigations that triggered the subpoenas was unclear.”
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Washington Post reporter Ellen Nakashima.
A Washington Post spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “The unwarranted subpoena of our reporter Ellen Nakashima — a clear violation of constitutionally guaranteed freedom of the press — was yet another sign that the government is attempting to coerce journalists into becoming instruments of its investigations. We will continue to stand fully behind The Washington Post’s journalism and will fight any efforts by any administration to violate our First Amendment rights.”
The Post described Nakashima as “a veteran national security correspondent who during the Trump administration covered the nation’s most powerful intelligence officials, the Iran conflict and deadly U.S. military strikes on boats that authorities allege were carrying illegal drugs.”
Managing Editor Matt Murray also addressed the distress experienced by Post employees on Tuesday morning.
“With the news published and the subpoena withdrawn, I want to reiterate our unwavering support for the First Amendment rights enshrined in our Constitution, the legal protections afforded to journalists, and our unconditional support for our journalists and freedom of the press. I also want to thank our legal colleagues who have worked aggressively on behalf of Ellen and The Post,” Murray wrote in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital.
“This institution stands behind all of you. Questioning, investigating, exposing and reporting is in The Washington Post’s DNA,” he continued. “That’s why we’re here and we’ll keep doing it.”
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Headquarters of the Washington Post. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg)
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Post reported that three Wall Street Journal journalists who also reported on national security also received subpoenas.
According to the Post, “The Justice Department also withdrew subpoenas for the Wall Street Journal, which the news organization had challenged in the same federal court, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the nonpublic hearings. None of the journalists testified before the grand jury, the official said.”
The WSJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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