The Trump administration has subpoenaed four New York Times journalists over their reporting on security concerns surrounding a Qatari-gifted jet serving as the new Air Force One, the newspaper reported Saturday.
The journalists, Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt, were subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week, according to the Times. Federal agents delivered some of the subpoenas to the reporters’ homes, the paper said.
The Times said it will fight the order. David McCraw, the paper’s top newsroom attorney, condemned the move in a statement Saturday. “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,” McCraw said.
The subpoenas follow two Times reports this week. One said the Secret Service urged Trump to temporarily stop using the new plane over rising tensions with Iran. The other said the aircraft lacked some defensive systems found on older Air Force One jets. Both reports cited anonymous sources.
Trump flew the new jet to a NATO summit in Turkey this week, then abruptly switched to an older Air Force One for the flight to Mildenhall Air Base in England. He boarded the newer plane again for the return trip to Joint Base Andrews. The swap came as a shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran collapsed, with the U.S. striking Iran and Iran attacking three Gulf Arab states.
The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to the Associated Press.
This is a developing story.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.