Trump administration subpoenas New York Times journalists over new Air Force One reporting | New York Times
The Trump administration subpoenaed several New York Times journalists after the newspaper reported on safety concerns about the president’s new plane. exit.
The Times said its journalists were subpoenaed by the U.S. justice department on Friday to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan five days later; This marks the Trump administration’s latest effort to force journalists to testify under threat of punishment. The newspaper added that agents served some subpoenas to Times reporters at their homes.
U.S. justice department spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoenas on Saturday.
Meanwhile, press freedom advocates expressed surprise at the subpoenas.
Statement from the National Press Club based in Washington DC in question federal prosecutors’ “decision to subpoena journalists at the New York Times should alarm every American because it threatens the people’s constitutional right to an independent press.”
The organization continued: “The National Press Club calls on the justice department to immediately withdraw these subpoenas and reaffirm a principle that has long privileged the United States: a free and independent press serves the people, not the government.”
Times attorney David McCraw said in his own statement: “The appearance of federal law enforcement on news reporters’ doorsteps should shock the conscience of any American who believes in this law.” [US] The Constitution and the freedom of the press it protects.”
The plane, which was the subject of the Times’ news, was given as a gift of 400 million dollars by Qatar. On his first trip on July 1, he took Donald Trump to North Dakota and more recently flew the president to the NATO summit in Türkiye.
But Trump later flew part of the way back to the United States on the vintage Air Force One presidential jet. This happened as the ceasefire collapsed with Iran, which shares a border with Türkiye and with which the US and Israel launched a war in late February.
Amid speculation that the jet the president gifted to Qatar lacked certain security systems, the Times — quoting anonymous sources — said at the time reported It turns out that the new Air Force One lacks anti-missile capabilities as well as other protective features found in older models. The Times also reported that Trump flew part of his return trip from Türkiye on an old Air Force One at the request of the Secret Service.
Trump later denied any safety concerns, telling reporters accompanying him that no safety concerns factored into his decision to fly only part of the way home on the new Air Force One.
The president also dodged a question about whether Iran had exposed Air Force One to any credible threat.
“I always face a threat,” Trump responded. “I’m number one on their list.”
The White House also rejected claims that the new Air Force One had any safety flaws, calling it “state-of-the-art.”
“The new Air Force One is equipped with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “As the President recently said, America has many enemies staring at it, and we are using every tool at our disposal, including distraction and misdirection, to eliminate these threats.”
Following news about the new Air Force One, Julian E Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt were among Times journalists subpoenaed for grand jury testimony, according to the newspaper.
Reports in June showed that justice department officials allegedly investigating national security leaks had similarly subpoenaed journalists from the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. But the justice department withdrew the subpoenas after media organizations objected to them in sealed court files.
In the United States, grand juries are one way prosecutors can bring criminal charges against defendants.
There have been other examples of the Trump administration targeting news organizations and other media figures and institutions throughout both of his presidencies.
One such recent and prominent example, particularly regarding the news media, was when the Trump administration filed criminal charges against journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort and photographer Junn Bollman in January for their coverage of a protest at a Minnesota church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official was the pastor.
Also in January, a federal grand jury in Maryland indicted a U.S. military contractor on charges of leaking classified documents in a case that led to an FBI raid on the home of a Washington Post reporter.
Associated Press contributed reporting
