Justice Department Subpoenas New York Times Reporters Over Air Force One Security Story

The Trump administration issued subpoenas to several New York Times journalists, directing them to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan over their reporting on security concerns surrounding the president's new Air Force One, the newspaper said Friday.

Federal agents delivered the summonses — some to reporters at their homes — requiring appearances before the grand jury on Wednesday. The subpoenas stated that reporters' testimony was needed "in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law," the Times reported.

The Times had published stories alleging that the Boeing 747-8 donated to the United States by Qatar lacked key security features, including antimissile capabilities, found on older presidential aircraft. The newspaper further reported that Trump flew part of the return leg from a NATO summit in Turkey on an older Air Force One plane at the request of the Secret Service.

The Justice Department confirmed the investigation in a statement, saying it was examining "illegal leaks of national security information" and "breaches of national security." The department added that reporters were not the targets of the probe — those who allegedly leaked classified information were.

"We are not going to ignore the law and stop investigating the people who work in the administration and think it's OK to leak classified information impacting national security," the statement said.

David McCraw, the Times's top newsroom lawyer, called the subpoenas a "brazen act" and said the appearance of federal law enforcement agents on reporters' doorsteps "should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects." He described the summonses as "nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs."

Press freedom organizations condemned the move. The National Press Club said the decision "should alarm every American because it threatens the public's constitutional right to an independent press" and called on the Justice Department to immediately withdraw the subpoenas. The Freedom of the Press Foundation's director of advocacy, Seth Stern, said the administration's "embarrassment" over the reported security concerns "does not supersede the need for a free and independent press."

The Qatari-gifted jet, valued at an estimated $400 million, flew Trump to North Dakota on its July 1 maiden voyage and later carried him to the NATO summit in Turkey. The Air Force had previously said that any potential threats identified with the previously owned aircraft had been "neutralized" in the new plane. The White House called the aircraft "state-of-the-art" and denied it had any security shortcomings.

Trump dismissed questions about the plane this week, telling reporters: "I have a threat all the time. I'm No. 1 on their list."

Other news organizations, including CBS News, published similar reports about the aircraft's security capabilities around the same time.