Trump administration subpoenas New York Times reporters over Air Force One reporting
Several New York Times reporters have been called to testify under oath after reporting on alleged security concerns involving President Donald Trump’s new Air Force One plane, the US newspaper said.
Federal agents served subpoenas to the journalists’ homes demanding they appear before a grand jury investigating the possible indictment, the Times said.
The paper published reports that the Qatari gifted plane was inadequately secured, and that the Secret Service urged Trump to change planes on his way home from a NATO summit in Turkey.
The Ministry of Justice told the BBC it was investigating the illegal leaks, adding: “Journalists are not the targets, those who leak are classified information.”
David McCraw, the lead lawyer for the Times, called the subpoenas “a ridiculous act” and “nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs”.
The subpoena — which is a legal requirement from a court or government agency that compels someone to appear or produce records or evidence — says the journalists’ testimony is needed “regarding alleged violations of criminal law,” the Times reported.
The subpoenas require the reporters to appear before a grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday, the Times said. Grand juries are made up of members of the public and are called by the US government to examine the evidence and decide whether there is enough to charge a person or people with a crime.
The New York Times reported on security concerns about the president’s plane citing unnamed sources. Although speaking to the media about confidential information is a crime, the US Constitution protects the freedom of the media to report information in the public interest.
“We appreciate and appreciate the important role played by the media in this country, but the DoJ also plays an important role in ensuring that the people entrusted with our country’s secrets do what they are supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information,” said the Department of Justice (DoJ) in a statement provided to the BBC.
The Times reported Wednesday that while Trump flew to the NATO summit in Turkey on the new Air Force One, he left the summit on an older plane on the advice of the Secret Service. The next day, the newspaper reported that security officials were concerned that the new plane lacked advanced security features, including anti-missile capabilities.
“Our reporters report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government works and how their taxpayer dollars are spent,” said McCraw, the Times attorney.
Other outlets published similar reports, including CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner. A former US government official told CBS that there was not enough time or money for the plane to be updated with the safety requirements to operate like Air Force One.
As these reports emerged, tensions with Iran over the ceasefire were growing, and the US was launching strikes.
