New York Times Moves To Quash Trump DOJ Subpoenas To Its Reporters

New York Times Moves To Quash Trump DOJ Subpoenas To Its Reporters.

The New York Times has filed a motion to quash subpoenas of a group of its journalists after they reported on the lack of security features on the new Air Force One, a gift of the government of Qatar. The Times said that the Justice Department sought information from reporters "in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law."

In a statement on Wednesday, David McCraw, senior vice president and deputy general counsel at the Times, said, "The New York Times filed a motion to quash the abusive and improper subpoenas issued to three of our journalists demanding they appear before a grand jury in the Southern District of New York and disclose their confidential sources. As we set out in our motion, these subpoenas are brought in bad faith to punish The Times for its coverage."

A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement, "To the extent that we have to investigate breaches of national security in whatever form they come, that's something that we will continue to do. To be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are. We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation's secrets do what they're supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information."

The subpoenas were issued by Jay Clayton, who is serving as U.S. attorney in Manhattan. At his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Clayton defended the subpoenas. "I'm confident that the procedures that we have in place to protect the First Amendment and protect the freedom of the press and not result in the intimidation of journalists were followed," Clayton said.

The Times' executive editor, Joseph Kahn, appeared in a video posted on Wednesday in which he said that "the Department of Justice has said that the reporters themselves are not the targets of the investigation, but their real targets are the government officials who were providing that information. We see this, though, as an attempt to intimidate the journalists and the Times itself."