The New York Times escalated its defense of press freedom on Wednesday, filing a motion to quash Justice Department subpoenas that targeted reporters for their coverage of security flaws in a newly retrofitted Air Force One.
The aircraft, a gift from Qatar that the Trump administration spent $400 million to upgrade, prompted concern among Secret Service officials about its defensive capabilities. Times journalists reported that the newer jet lacked advanced antimissile systems present on the older presidential aircraft, which Trump ultimately chose to fly when departing a NATO summit in Turkey last week.
Federal prosecutors delivered subpoenas last Friday to Times reporters, some served at their homes, demanding they testify before a grand jury in Manhattan about their sources for the Air Force One story. The move marked an unusual and aggressive attempt to compel journalists to divulge confidential sources in a national security matter.
"These subpoenas are brought in bad faith to punish the Times for its coverage," said David McCraw, the newspaper's senior vice-president and deputy general counsel. "They violate the constitutional rights of the Times and its journalists. We are going to court to defend our journalists' rights to report freely on the administration."
The filing came under seal in federal court in the Southern District of New York. The Justice Department defended its actions by framing the investigation as targeting leakers of classified material rather than the press itself. A department statement said the government values journalism but must also ensure that people entrusted with national secrets do not disclose classified information.
Press advocates immediately condemned the subpoenas as an intimidation tactic, part of what critics describe as an intensifying crackdown on media leaks. The move followed an FBI search of a Washington Post reporter's home earlier this year and the seizure of her electronic devices.
While the Justice Department has developed internal policies over the years governing responses to media leaks, and has occasionally seized phone records from individual journalists, it remains exceptionally rare for federal prosecutors to compel a reporter to identify sources before a grand jury. Such action typically triggers vigorous legal and constitutional battles.
Trump denied on social media that the newer Air Force One had any security deficiencies, but the Secret Service's preference for the older aircraft suggested otherwise.
Author James Rodriguez: "This is a straightforward test of whether a president can use the criminal justice system to intimidate the press into silence, and the Times is right to fight it hard."
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