Times journalists subpoenaed as Trump escalates pressure on media

The Trump administration issued subpoenas Friday to several journalists for the New York Times, after the news outlet reported this week on security concerns involving President Donald Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One.

The subpoenas — which seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in New York on Wednesday — were an extraordinary escalation in Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations.

In some cases, the subpoenas were delivered by federal agents who showed up at reporters’ homes.

The Times denounced the administration’s actions.

“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” David McCraw, the Times’ top newsroom lawyer, said in a statement Friday evening.

“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” McCraw wrote. “This brazen act should be seen as 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 subpoenas contain few specifics, asking only that the journalists testify “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.” They were issued by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. Clayton, who leads one of the country’s most prominent law enforcement offices, was recently nominated by Trump to serve as director of national intelligence.

Representatives for the White House and the U.S. attorney in Manhattan did not immediately respond to inquiries Friday evening.

The Times journalists who received subpoenas included Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt, who reported Wednesday that Trump had departed Turkey on the old Air Force One as a security precaution at the urging of the Secret Service. On Thursday, the Times reported that the new Air Force One, a Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8, lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including anti-missile capabilities. Both articles cited sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues.

Before the Wednesday article was published, a senior official at the FBI contacted the Times to ask that the article be held, calling it an issue of national security, according to a person familiar with the conversation. The FBI official spoke with a reporter and a senior editor in the Times’ Washington bureau; the official declined to explain the security issue when asked. (A spokesperson for the Times, Charlie Stadtlander, confirmed the account.)

Trump has long been a harsh critic of the news media. But in his second term in office, he has moved aggressively to use the immense powers of the federal government in his efforts to attack the press.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department sought to compel testimony from journalists at the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. The Justice Department withdrew the subpoenas after both news organizations fought back in sealed filings.

Both Democratic and Republican administrations have initiated leak investigations into the disclosure of classified information. But subpoenas aimed at journalists are not common, and First Amendment advocates say they can chill the work of news gathering.

In January, FBI agents took the rare step of searching the home of a Washington Post reporter, Hannah Natanson, as part of an investigation into a government contractor’s handling of classified material. The agents seized phones, laptops, and a smartwatch after executing a search warrant. Natanson had spent months speaking with government employees while reporting on the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce.

The Times is a party to several lawsuits involving Trump and his administration.

The president sued the Times last year, accusing it of defaming him, disparaging his reputation, and seeking to undermine his 2024 candidacy.

In December, the Times sued the Defense Department after it imposed restrictions on reporters who cover the military. The company sued again after the agency reduced reporters’ physical access to the Pentagon.

In May, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the Times, accusing it of employment discrimination. On Friday, the Times filed a counterclaim, saying the lawsuit was an act of retaliation for its coverage of the Trump presidency and a violation of its First Amendment rights.

This article originally appeared in the New York Times.