Media advocacy groups questioned the federal government’s move on Friday to subpoena a group of New York Times reporters who reported on security issues plaguing US President Donald Trump. the new Air Force One.
The Times wrote in astory published Saturdaythat his reporters – who included Tyler Pager, Julian Barnes, Eric Lipton and Eric Schmitt – had been told to testify before a grand jury in Manhattan next week. The call, according to the newspaper, was made by Jay Clayton, whoTrump was nominated last monthto serve as his second director of national intelligence and may make subpoenas in his current role as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Groups that defend journalists criticized the move by the Department of Justice.
“The National Press Club is calling on the Justice Department to immediately withdraw this subpoena and reaffirm a principle that has long distinguished America: a free and independent press serving the people, not the government,” President of the National Press Club.Mark Schoeff Jr. he said in a statement.
White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang said the organization stands with the Times reporters, saying they were “targeted for doing their jobs to defend the public’s right to know how its government works.”
“WHCA condemns any act of intimidation against journalists, including attempts to pressure them into news sources,” Jiang added.
And Stephen J. Adler, chairman of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said, “When the public’s right to know is suppressed, as the Trump Administration is trying to do with its call against The New York Times, we all suffer irreparable harm, as do the freedoms on which this nation is built.”
Democrats in the Senate, too, targeted the subpoenas. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) blasted them as “another slap in the face of the First Amendment from this administration and an attempt to silence journalists they don’t like” insocial media post.
“The press has the right and responsibility to report the truth,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wroteon X. “It’s not their fault that his foreign gifted aircraft is a national security threat.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Every administration has dealt with the crime of disclosing national security information,”DOJ wrote on X Saturday. “To the extent that we have to investigate violations of national security, that is something we will continue to do. To be clear, reporters are not the target, those who leak classified information are.”
The reported subpoena is the latest step in the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive government information. Last month, the DOJhe also issued a grand jury summonsseeking testimony from reporters at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal in separate investigations into leaks involving national security reporting. The subpoenas were later withdrawn after the stores protested them.
David McCraw, senior vice president and deputy general counsel at the TimesHe said Saturday in a statementthat “the appearance of Federal law enforcement agents at the door of the press should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the freedom of the press it protects. Our journalists report the truth and advance the American public’s right to know how their government works and their taxpayer dollars are spent.” McCraw added that the call “should be seen as an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”
The latest call comes fromThe Times reportedthat Secret Service officials urged Trump to fly back from this week’s NATO summit in an old Air Force One because the new Qatari-gifted plane lacked some of the security capabilities of a traditional presidential jet. The White House has denied the report, saying the new plane has “advanced security protocols” and that operational decisions surrounding the president’s flight included “distractions and diversions” to protect his safety.
