Trump administration subpoenas NYT journalists' phone records

The Justice Department under President Donald Trump issued subpoenas seeking the telephone records of four New York Times reporters and, in some cases, the records of their relatives—including a reporter’s mother and two spouses. The subpoenas were part of a leak investigation triggered by the newspaper’s stories about security concerns with a Qatari‑gifted Air Force One jet. Records were requested for a period extending back to Jan. 1, 2026, far earlier than the July 8‑9 articles that prompted the probe. The Times’ lawyers argue the move “demonstrates abuse of the grand jury process, continued bad‑faith attacks on the journalists” and violates internal DOJ guidelines, describing it as an “extraordinary escalation” that could chill newsgathering. The department maintains the subpoenas target leakers, not reporters. A U.S. District Judge has frozen enforcement of the phone‑record subpoenas while the newspaper’s motion to quash them proceeds.