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The administration of United States President Donald Trump has issued subpoenas against the New York Times journalists, in what activists say is a serious attack on the press.
Late Friday, the Times reported that at least four of its reporters had received subpoenas, some served at their homes by federal agencies.
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The subpoenas compel them to testify before a Manhattan grand jury on Wednesday.
“The appearance of government officials before the media should shock every American who believes in the Constitution and the freedom of the press it protects,” said David McCraw, the newspaper’s lawyer, in a statement quoted by the Times.
News of the summons sparked outrage from major media groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), who called for his resignation.
“These complaints add to President Trump’s attempts to intimidate and intimidate independent news organizations, and are undermining the work of journalists across the country,” said CPJ director Jodie Ginsberg.
The subpoenas were authorized by a senior official in Trump’s Justice Department: Jay Clayton, US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Clayton is in line to succeed Bill Pulte as director of national intelligence, a cabinet position that Pulte holds on a temporary basis. The Senate is scheduled to begin hearings on Clayton’s confirmation next week.
A look at NATO’s approach
This article is from The New York Times about Trump’s return from the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, this week.
While Trump flew to Europe on the new Air Force One, a jet gifted by Qatar and restored by the US military, he left the old Air Force One.
Trump said the change was made to allow the new aircraft to fly to RAF Mildenhall, an air base in Suffolk, England, that supports the US military.
He created it as an opportunity to allow the military to fly.
“It’s going to go to multiple locations,” Trump said at the time, “for the military to see because it’s really cool.”
But at the same press conference on July 8, Trump reiterated his concerns.
When asked about the flight change by a reporter from the New York Post, Trump replied, “You know, the life of a president is very dangerous.” He said he was “high on Iran’s death list”.
That same day, The New York Times reported that he had swapped his new presidential jet with his old one for security reasons, citing anonymous sources. The change is said to have come at the urging of the Secret Service.
Then, the next day, the Times expanded its coverage with a follow-up report, showing that the new Air Force One lacked the security capabilities of the old plane.
The article anonymously quoted two former Air Force officials as saying that there would not have been enough time to prepare for the Ankara flight.
It is not clear which changes have already been made, but experts say the changes could cost up to $1bn.
Friday’s subpoenas targeted four journalists involved in the Times’ reporting on the subject: Eric Schmitt, Tyler Pager, Eric Lipton and Julian E Barnes.
According to the Times, before the subpoenas were issued, the newspaper was contacted by the FBI director.
That person, who has not been named, asked the newspaper to stop reporting on Air Force One, citing national security concerns. The FBI director also asked for more information on the information obtained by the Times.
The newspaper, however, refused to provide such information, in line with journalistic ethics.
Practice relations with the media
The subpoenas mark the latest in a tussle between the Trump administration and the US media covering its activities.
Trump himself has a longstanding feud with the Times. In September, he sued the newspaper for $15bn in damages, saying it defamed him and tried to “disrupt” his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, which he won.
After his first complaint was dismissed as “improper”, Trump fired back in October.
The Times, for its part, has sued the Trump administration’s Department of Defense over the press ban.
This week, the Times filed another lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that the newspaper discriminated against a white, male employee by failing to promote him.
The Times reported that the effort was an attempt to suppress the media, violating the protection of free speech enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
The Times is not the only newspaper to face criticism from the Trump administration. In December, Trump launched a $10bn lawsuit against the BBCis arguing that the drama he released interfered with his speech before his speech at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Mr Trump is also seeking $10bn from The Wall Street Journal for reporting on a birthday message he allegedly sent to criminal Jeffrey Epstein. After That suit was thrown outTrump renewed it in May.
The Trump administration has also taken action against individual journalists.
For example, in January The FBI conducted a raid at the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, who reported on the Trump administration’s efforts to cut federal workers.
The raid came as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of leaking information to the media, but at least two judges have barred the Trump administration from using the information seized on Natanson.
The Trump administration has denied that it wants to crack down on press freedom, citing national security instead.
But McCraw, the Times’ lawyer, said that with the latest subpoenas, the White House is trying to restrict “the right of the American people to know how their government is working”.
“This act of shame should be seen as something that only aims to prevent people from knowing what is happening in their country by threatening journalists from doing their job,” he said.
Top Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have also overseen the subpoenas, using them to accuse Trump of corruption.
“Donald Trump is one of the weakest, thin-skinned people in the world,” Schumer he wrote on social media.
“Journalists have the right and responsibility to tell the truth. It is not their fault that a foreign airline threatens national security. This complaint is an egregious fraud and abuse of government security that should frighten every American.”
