The Justice Department on Thursday withdrew the subpoenas it issued to The New York Times reporters who reported on security concerns about the new Air Force One gifted to President Donald Trump by the Qatari royal family. The department also withdrew subpoenas to phone service providers for reporters’ call records.
Sean Buckley, the former deputy U.S. Attorney and current chief counsel to U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, argued to Judge Arun Subramanian for the better part of an hour that the subpoenas were lawfully issued. However, Buckley also admitted that the subpoenas erroneously sought information from a parent and spouses of the reporters as “a consequence of trying to move quickly.”
The DOJ issued the subpoenas, which sought the Times’ reporters phone records and grand jury testimonies, following the paper’s coverage earlier this month that stated the new plane lacks the critical defensive countermeasures the previous plane had.
Following that reporting, Trump swapped out the new plane for the original Air Force One for his flight from the NATO summit to the United Kingdom, as MS NOW reported. He also dispatched FBI Director Kash Patel to oversee a leak investigation into the source of the Times’ reporting.
Thursday’s news comes as a win for the newspaper — and for the First Amendment more broadly — at a time when the government has sought to curtail press freedoms through various legal actions and leak investigations.
In a statement provided to MS NOW, David McCraw, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for the Times, called the proceeding “an important affirmation of our country’s commitment to a free press.”
“We are pleased that the government finally conceded that the subpoenas violated the law, but they should never have been issued in the first place,” McGraw added. “The Times and our journalists will continue to report and seek the truth without fear or favor. We will not be deterred in the face of tactics like these.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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