New York Times journalists subpoenaed over Air Force One reporting

The Trump administration issued subpoenas to several New York Times journalists after the newspaper reported on alleged security concerns involving the president’s new Air Force One, the Times said Friday.

The subpoenas seek to compel the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday, according to the newspaper. Federal agents delivered some of the subpoenas to reporters at their homes, the Times said. The paper identified Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt among the journalists who received subpoenas, The Guardian reported.

The Times’ account of the subpoenas could not be independently confirmed by CBS News, which reported that the White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Guardian also reported that Justice Department spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

David McCraw, a lawyer for the Times, criticized the move. “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,” he said in a statement.

The National Press Club also objected, saying federal prosecutors’ “decision to subpoena journalists at the New York Times should alarm every American because it threatens the public’s constitutional right to an independent press.” The organization called on the Justice Department to withdraw the subpoenas and “reaffirm a principle that has long distinguished the United States: a free and independent press serves the people, not the government.”

The subpoenas followed Times reporting about the president’s new aircraft. The Guardian reported that the plane was provided by Qatar as a $400 million gift and made its maiden voyage carrying Trump to North Dakota on July 1. It later flew him to a NATO summit in Turkey.

After the summit, Trump departed Wednesday for Mildenhall, a Royal Air Force base in Suffolk, England, on an older-model Air Force One jet, CBS News reported. Both the older jet and the newer plane flew to Mildenhall, and Trump then switched to the newer plane for the flight home to Joint Base Andrews.

The plane swap occurred as a fragile ceasefire with Iran had collapsed, with the United States launching airstrikes on Iran and Tehran attacking three Gulf Arab states, according to CBS News. The Guardian reported that the flight decision came amid the collapse of a ceasefire with Iran, which shares a border with Turkey.

The Times reported Wednesday that the switch came at the urging of the Secret Service. On Thursday, the paper reported, citing anonymous sources, that the newer plane lacked some advanced security features found on older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities.

CBS News also reported that the Secret Service advised Trump to use the old jet. U.S. officials told CBS News the new plane was hurried into service and lacked some desired capabilities. A former U.S. government official told CBS News there were concerns that there had not been enough time or money to outfit the aircraft with defensive capabilities to fully meet Air Force One requirements.

Trump denied that security concerns drove the flight decision. He posted on social media that the stop at Mildenhall was intended so service members there could view the new jet. During the flight, he told reporters traveling with him that security concerns involving Iran were not a factor in flying two planes home. Asked whether he knew of any credible threats against Air Force One by Iran, Trump said, “I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.”

The White House also denied that the new aircraft had security shortcomings. Spokesman Steven Cheung called it “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.” According to The Guardian, Cheung also said, “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 Guardian reported that Justice Department officials investigating national security leaks had similarly subpoenaed journalists from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post in June, but withdrew those subpoenas after the outlets contested them in sealed court filings.