Trump administration subpoenas four NYT reporters over Air Force One security coverage

Subpoenas delivered Friday to four New York Times journalists seek their testimony before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next Wednesday concerning their reporting on security features of the new Air Force One. The move places the administration and the newspaper in direct conflict over access to information about presidential travel protections during heightened tensions with Iran.

The journalists named are Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt. Federal agents served some of the subpoenas at the reporters’ homes, according to the Times. The documents cite an alleged violation of federal criminal law but provide no further details. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York issued the subpoenas.

The Times articles in question, published Wednesday and Thursday, described a mid-trip switch from the new Qatari-gifted aircraft to an older model after a NATO summit in Turkey. The reporting, based on anonymous sources, attributed the change to Secret Service concerns and noted the absence of certain antimissile systems on the newer plane. The Times stated that an FBI official had asked the paper before publication to withhold the Wednesday story on national-security grounds.

President Trump denied any security motive for the plane change, telling accompanying reporters that the stop in Mildenhall, England, was arranged so service members could view the new jet. He added that he faces threats constantly. White House spokesman Steven Cheung later said the new aircraft meets high-level security protocols. The Times report on the security differences could not be independently confirmed by other outlets, and neither the White House nor the Justice Department responded immediately to the subpoenas.

The Justice Department issued similar subpoenas earlier this year to reporters at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal; those were later withdrawn. The Times has ongoing litigation with the administration, including a defamation suit filed by Trump and countersuits by the paper over Pentagon access and employment matters.