New York Times reporters subpoenaed in Air Force One security probe
The U.S. Department of Justice issued grand‑jury subpoenas to four New York Times journalists—Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt—to testify about an alleged federal crime linked to their reporting on security concerns with the president’s new Air Force One aircraft. The reporters had disclosed that the Boeing 747‑8, a gift from Qatar, lacks some advanced anti‑missile defenses and that the Secret Service advised President Trump to use an older plane for his NATO summit trip to Turkey.
The Justice Department said the investigation targets unauthorized disclosures of classified information, not the journalists themselves, stating, “Reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.” The New York Times and press‑freedom groups condemned the subpoenas as intimidation, with Times counsel David McCraw saying, “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.” Subpoenas were delivered to the reporters’ homes, and a hearing before the Manhattan grand jury is scheduled for the following week.