The Trump administration issued subpoenas Friday to several New York Times journalists who reported this week on security concerns with President Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One.
The subpoenas compel the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday.
In some cases, federal agents delivered the subpoenas directly to the journalists’ homes. The move marks a sharp escalation in the administration’s efforts to pressure independent news organizations.
The Times strongly condemned the action. “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,” said David McCraw, the Times’s top newsroom lawyer, in a statement Friday evening.
McCraw called the subpoenas “a brazen act” intended to intimidate journalists and prevent the public from learning how the government is operating and how taxpayer dollars are being spent.
White House and Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The subpoenaed journalists are Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt. Their reporting revealed that Trump flew on the older Air Force One during a recent trip from Turkey at the Secret Service’s urging due to security concerns, and that the new Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar lacks certain advanced protections, such as antimissile capabilities. Sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.
Before the initial story published on Wednesday, an FBI official contacted The Times requesting the article be held for national security reasons but declined to specify the threat when asked, according to a person familiar with the conversation. The Times proceeded with publication.
This is the latest development in tensions between the Trump administration and news organizations over coverage of presidential security and foreign government involvement in U.S. assets.