The Department of Justice has subpoenaed New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One, marking a dramatic escalation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign against the media that has drawn condemnation for eroding a fundamental freedom of American democracy.
The new jet, a present from the U.S. ally that the administration spent US$400-million on to retrofit and upgrade, entered service last week. But Trump used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey and later referenced threats against him made by Iran.
The subpoenas seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week, the Times said, adding that federal agents delivered some subpoenas to the reporters at their homes. The subpoenas were issued after FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department officials met at the White House on Friday to talk about the matter, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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The Times journalists who received subpoenas included Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt, the Times reported.
“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, a lawyer for the Times, said in a statement.
Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said Trump’s “war on the press is looking for another victim.”
He said in a statement that the subpoenas “break from long-standing Justice Department practice to protect the public interest and press independence by requiring prosecutors to only seek information from reporters as a last resort when all other avenues have been exhausted.”
The department said that “to be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”
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Its statement said “we value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information.”
While recognizing “there may always be natural tension there,” the department said “we are not going to ignore the law and stop investigating the people who work in the administration and think it’s okay to leak classified information impacting national security.”
Part of a pattern of anti-press actions
Issuing subpoenas represents further ramping up of Trump’s effort to threaten independent new organizations by leveraging the power of the federal government against them. It is also part of a systematic pattern by the Republican president to attempt to undermine press freedom in order to shield him from negative coverage.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department issued subpoenas seeking to compel testimony from reporters at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. In both cases, the department later withdrew the subpoenas, though.
In January, FBI agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, who has been covering Trump’s transformation of the federal government, as part of a leak investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of taking home classified information.
During his first term, Trump suggested that the press constituted an “enemy” of the American people. Since returning to the White House last year, he has waged an aggressive campaign against the media unlike any in modern U.S. history.
Trump’s pattern of attacks against news outlets and media figures he believes are overly critical of him has included filing lawsuits against outlets whose coverage he dislikes, threatening to revoke TV broadcast licenses and seeking to bend news organizations and social media companies to his will.
The Justice Department over the years has developed and revised internal policies governing how it will respond to news media leaks.
Though the department across presidential administrations has periodically seized the phone records of individual journalists in hopes of identifying sources for national security stories, it is extremely rare for the government to attempt to compel reporters to reveal their sources before a grand jury.
In April 2025, then-U.S. Attorney-General Pam Bondi rescinded a policy from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations – a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.
Doing so again gave prosecutors the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists.
A memo Bondi issued said members of the press are “presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,” and subpoenas are to be “narrowly drawn.” Warrants must also include “protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities,” the memo stated.
Trump didn’t use his new Air Force One while leaving Turkey
The president flew the new Air Force One to Turkey during this week’s visit. But he departed Wednesday on one of the older-model Air Force One jets for Mildenhall, a Royal Air Force base in Suffolk, England.
The newer plane also flew to Mildenhall. Trump then switched to that plane for the flight home to Joint Base Andrews.
The abrupt swap came as a shaky ceasefire with Iran had collapsed, with the U.S. launching air strikes on Iran and Tehran attacking three Gulf Arab states. Iran and Turkey share a border, sparking speculation that the new jet lacked certain sophisticated security and countermeasure systems.
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The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service, and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities.
Trump denied any security concerns, posting on social media that the stop in Mildenhall was so that service members there could view the new jet. During the flight, Trump denied to the reporters accompanying him that security concerns involving Iran were a factor in flying two planes home.
Still, asked if he was aware of any credible threats against Air Force One by Iran, Trump responded, “I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.”
The White House later denied any security shortcomings
“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,” spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Cheung added that, “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal – including distraction and misdirection – to address those threats.”
The White House did not answer a message Saturday seeking comment about the subpoenas having been issued against Times journalists.
Facts Only
* The Department of Justice subpoenaed New York Times journalists regarding reporting on security concerns involving the Qatari-gifted Air Force One.
* Subpoenas seek testimony before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week.
* Federal agents delivered some subpoenas to reporters at their homes.
* The subpoenas followed meetings between FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department officials at the White House on Friday.
* Subpooned journalists included Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt.
* The DOJ stated reporters are not targets; those leaking classified information are.
* Trump used an older model Air Force One jet for a trip to leave a NATO summit in Turkey and later referenced threats from Iran.
* The President flew the new Air Force One to Turkey but departed on an older model jet for Mildenhall, England, and then to Joint Base Andrews.
* A switch to an older plane occurred amid instability concerning Iran and air strikes involving Gulf Arab states.
* The White House spokesman stated the new Air Force One has high-level security protocols.
Executive Summary
The Department of Justice has subpoenaed New York Times journalists following their reporting on security concerns related to the newly acquired, Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet. The subpoenas are intended to compel testimony before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week, and federal agents have delivered some requests at reporters' homes. This action followed meetings between FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department officials at the White House regarding the matter.
The actions are framed by critics as an escalation of Donald Trump’s campaign against the media. Legal observers noted that this move breaks from standard Justice Department practice, suggesting prosecutors should seek information from reporters only as a last resort. While the Department asserts that reporters are not the targets but rather those leaking classified information, they maintain the right to investigate those who share sensitive data impacting national security.
The context involves President Trump's decision to use an older Air Force One jet for travel following recent geopolitical events involving Iran and Turkey, which led to scrutiny regarding the security features of the new aircraft. The White House later defended the aircraft's security protocols, attributing potential threats to broader enemies rather than specific concerns over the plane itself.
Full Take
The narrative illustrates a dynamic where government agencies utilize legal mechanisms, such as subpoenas, to manage information flow and counter critical reporting, particularly when national security is invoked. The pattern involves leveraging federal authority against the press under the guise of protecting national security, which creates tension between the institution's stated mission (protecting secrets) and its operational deployment (subpoenaing reporters). This action feeds a broader historical pattern where executive actors employ aggressive tactics against independent media outlets they perceive as critical.
The underlying assumption is that the defense of classified information justifies actions that impede press freedom, positioning government entities as uniquely positioned to determine what constitutes legitimate security concerns versus investigative journalism. The contrast between the DOJ's assertion that reporters are not targets and the explicit act of subpoenaing them highlights a conflict in priorities: balancing the need for operational secrecy against the constitutional protection of the press. This sets up a pattern where scrutiny shifts from the content of the reporting to the legality and motivation behind the investigative process itself, suggesting that the procedural maneuvers are as significant as the initial subject matter reported.
What questions remain about the balance between these competing claims? How does the invocation of broad national security concerns serve as a sufficient justification for imposing stringent legal constraints on journalistic sources, even when those sources operate under constitutional protections? Does this pattern suggest an increasing reliance on state power to manage public discourse rather than relying solely on democratic accountability mechanisms?
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like a detailed piece of investigative reporting that synthesizes specific events, legal actions, and political rhetoric, exhibiting hallmarks of human journalistic construction rather than pure synthetic generation.