The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York sent on Friday, July 10, subpoenas to several journalists from The New York Times (NYT), the newspaper itself reported. As the publication notes, this happened against the backdrop of the release of an article about possible security problems due to which US President Donald Trump did not fly from the NATO summit in Ankara on Air Force One, a plane donated by Qatar.
As previously reported, Trump recently, on the recommendation of the Secret Service, changed the plane on the way from the NATO summit in Turkey, since the new aircraft donated by Qatar was not equipped with systems to protect against missile attacks. The situation was associated with the threat of an assassination attempt on the president amid the renewed conflict with Iran.
The US Department of Justice is now seeking the “compulsory interrogation of journalists” who wrote about the new presidential jet, in what the NYT called an “egregious” action by the Trump administration.
The federal prosecutor who issued the subpoenas, Jay Clayton, was appointed by the current president and also nominated by him to the post of Director of National Intelligence, to which he must be confirmed by the Senate.
“The subpoenas to force journalists to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan represent an unprecedented escalation in President Trump’s efforts to intimidate independent news organizations,” the NYT described the situation.
In some cases, the subpoenas were served by federal agents who came to the home of the newspaper's journalists, the publication clarifies. According to the newspaper, the documents contain “little specifics” and require reporters to testify “in connection with an alleged violation of federal criminal law.”
“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorsteps of journalists should shock any American who believes in the Constitution and the freedom of the press it protects,” said David McCraw, NYT chief legal officer.
In the past, both Republican and Democratic administrations have initiated investigations into leaks of classified information, but subpoenas sent to journalists are rare, the newspaper emphasizes. In the context of the First Amendment of the US Constitution regarding freedom of speech, such actions can interfere with news gathering efforts, the NYT argues.
The publication adds that before publishing an article about the situation with Trump's planes on Wednesday, July 8, a senior Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official allegedly contacted the newspaper's reporter and senior editor and asked not to publish the story, citing “national security concerns.” This employee refused to explain what exactly the threat was, the newspaper writes. He also asked the NYT to disclose the sources of information for the article, but the newspaper refused.
As RTVI previously reported, FBI chief Kash Patel allegedly ordered at the beginning of the year more than 20 current and former employees of his own security service, including IT specialists, to undergo lie detector tests in an attempt to discover who, in his opinion, could transmit information to the media about matters within his department.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation into Patel himself in June, accusing him of corruption and creating a fund with $1 million in “illegal bonuses” for federal agents.
