Media advocates condemn subpoenas to New York Times reporters over Air Force One story
Federal subpoenas reached reporters’ homes after a Times story on Air Force One security, alarming press-freedom advocates who warn of a widening chill.
Federal prosecutors subpoenaed five New York Times journalists over reporting on security concerns involving Donald Trump’s new Qatari-gifted Air Force One, and some of the papers were delivered directly to reporters’ homes. The subpoenas sought grand jury testimony in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, July 16.
Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt were among those affected. On Wednesday, July 9, the Secret Service had urged Trump to use an older Air Force One rather than the Boeing 747-8 because of security concerns, including the plane’s lack of some defensive countermeasures found on the older aircraft. The jet entered service last week after about $400 million in U.S. retrofit and upgrade work. A senior FBI official also asked the paper not to publish the security story. Trump later used the older Air Force One to leave Turkey for Mildenhall Air Force Base in England after traveling to the NATO summit on the newer plane.
Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of the Committee to Protect Journalists, called the subpoenas an “extraordinary escalation” and pressed the Trump administration to withdraw them. Frank Sesno, the former CNN White House bureau chief who now teaches at George Washington University, said the government has been using the levers of power to intimidate and demonize professional journalists who publish stories the administration dislikes.
The Justice Department said the reporters are not the targets and that the investigation is aimed at people who may have leaked classified information. Blocked access to power centers, lawsuits against news organizations and a Washington journalist whose home was searched by federal agents have alarmed press-freedom advocates.
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