U.S. Justice Department subpoenas NYT journalists over Air Force One report

The U.S. Department of Justice, led by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in Manhattan, issued subpoenas to four New York Times reporters—Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt—after the newspaper published a story about security concerns surrounding the Qatar‑gifted Boeing 747‑8 Air Force One. The report said the new jet, retrofitted at a cost of $400 million, lacked some advanced defensive systems of the older aircraft, prompting the Secret Service to switch President Donald Trump to the older plane during a NATO summit in Turkey. Federal agents delivered the subpoenas to the journalists’ homes and compelled them to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan.

Press‑freedom groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists and the National Press Club, condemned the action as an unprecedented assault on the First Amendment, calling it a “dangerous and uncharted territory” that could chill investigative reporting. Critics highlighted the coordination of the subpoenas from the White House and the involvement of FBI Director Kash Patel, describing the move as an escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to intimidate independent media. The journalists and the Times have vowed to fight the subpoenas in court, arguing the story was in the public interest.