Justice Department to withdraw New York Times subpoenas

The Justice Department told a federal judge Thursday it will withdraw subpoenas issued to New York Times reporters in a leak investigation tied to the newspaper’s coverage of security concerns about a new Air Force One jet donated by Qatar.

The announcement came during a tense hearing in Manhattan federal court, where U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian questioned federal prosecutors about why they sought grand jury testimony and phone records from journalists before taking other investigative steps. CBS News reported that Subramanian also questioned whether he should consider sanctions over alleged perjury in an application submitted to a judge to secure the subpoenas.

The Times had moved to block the subpoenas, calling them “abusive and improper.” In court filings, the newspaper said prosecutors were trying to obtain phone records of Times journalists and their family members as part of a Justice Department effort to identify sources who spoke with reporters about security systems on the new Air Force One plane.

The subpoenas were issued July 10 by Jay Clayton, the Manhattan U.S. attorney, according to The Guardian. Clayton, who served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has been selected by President Donald Trump to be director of national intelligence, CBS News reported.

The Times said several of its reporters received grand jury subpoenas on the same day the newspaper published reporting on Trump’s use of an old presidential aircraft to depart from a NATO summit in Turkey. The reporting said Trump left Turkey on the older Air Force One because the new Qatari-donated plane lacked antimissile and other defensive features, according to The Guardian.

The newspaper’s reports cited anonymous sources. The Guardian reported that the articles appeared as a ceasefire collapsed in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Subramanian had paused enforcement of the subpoenas ahead of Thursday’s hearing. Prosecutors had asked him to put the subpoenas on hold for two weeks, saying next steps in the investigation could affect his decision, while the Times asked the judge to throw them out.

In its court filing, the Times argued that the subpoenas were aimed at harassing and intimidating journalists and violated First Amendment free press protections. The Guardian described the subpoenas as the latest instance of the Trump administration seeking to force journalists to reveal sources, part of what critics call a broader pressure campaign against the media.

By the end of the hearing, prosecutors said the department would withdraw the subpoenas for both grand jury testimony and phone records, ending the immediate court fight over whether the reporters would have to comply.