The Justice Department issued subpoenas Friday to four New York Times journalists who published classified details about security vulnerabilities on President Trump’s new Air Force One, the Qatar-gifted Boeing 747-8 that entered service earlier this year.
The reporters, Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt, were served at their homes by federal agents. They are ordered to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week in connection with “an alleged violation of federal criminal law,” according to the Times.
The outlet’s stories revealed that the refurbished Qatari plane lacked some of the advanced defensive countermeasures found on the older presidential aircraft. A second article earlier in the week reported that a security precaution forced Trump to depart for the NATO summit in Turkey on the old Air Force One rather than the new one. The switch raised concerns about potential Iranian threats against the president, coming days after U.S. forces launched fresh strikes against Iran.
Before publishing, the FBI contacted the Times and asked it to hold the story for national security reasons. The Times declined and published anyway. Federal agents then appeared at the reporters’ homes with subpoenas.
“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,” Times attorney David McCraw said in a statement.
The National Press Club called on DOJ to withdraw the subpoenas, saying the action “threatens the public’s constitutional right to an independent press.”
The Freedom of the Press Foundation called the episode an “embarrassment” for the Trump administration. “The administration’s embarrassment that it reportedly charged taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to retrofit a flying bribe that still isn’t secure enough for hostile times does not supersede the need for a free and independent press,” said FPF advocacy chief Seth Stern.
