US prosecutors drop New York Times subpoenas in Trump plane leak probe

NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - The Trump administration will withdraw subpoenas issued to New York Times' journalists who reported on security concerns about the president flying on a Qatari-donated Air Force One, a prosecutor said at a court hearing on Thursday.

The subpoenas issued by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton on July 10 were the latest instance of the Trump administration seeking to compel journalists to divulge confidential sources in leak investigations, a practice press-freedom advocates say can chill reporting.

A prosecutor with Clayton's office informed U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian of the decision after the judge spent roughly 1-1/2 hours questioning government attorneys about procedural issues in the leak investigation, including their handling of subpoenas for reporters' phone records.

'The government is prepared unilaterally to withdraw the subpoenas,' prosecutor Sean Buckley said, noting that the probe was ongoing and that the government could subpoena the reporters again.

Clayton, President Donald Trump's pick to be the next U.S. director of national intelligence, issued the subpoenas after the Times reported that Trump left Turkey on the old Air Force One because a new plane donated by Qatar lacked antimissile and other defensive features.

The government said the Times coverage posed a 'substantial national security concern' about leaks of classified national defense information when the president was flying amid hostilities with a foreign adversary intent on harming him, an apparent reference to Iran.

The reports cited anonymous sources and coincided with the collapse of a ceasefire in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The Times had asked Subramanian to throw out the subpoenas, arguing they were issued improperly and infringed on free press protections under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

The Times said in a court filing that the subpoenas were aimed at harassing and intimidating journalists. The company also accused prosecutors of violating internal policies on the use of subpoenas against journalists, which is supposed to be a rare step requiring top-level Justice Department approval.

A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement that the investigation is ongoing and that the government will prosecute people who threaten national security by leaking classified information.

Buckley denied that the Department of Justice issued the subpoenas improperly but conceded the DOJ failed to inform the reporters that the government had separately subpoenaed their phone records, as required by law.

However, the Times said in a statement after the hearing that the government 'conceded that the subpoenas violated the law' and that they never should have been issued.

In a Tuesday court filing, prosecutors argued the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to divulge essential information in criminal investigations.

Both Republican and Democratic administrations have sought to compel journalists to reveal sources in leak probes, but press groups accuse Trump's Republican administration of using subpoenas and search warrants too freely, including against the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. They also accuse Trump of using government power and private lawsuits to bully and harass the news media.

The Trump administration has said it is pursuing criminal charges against leakers, not targeting journalists, and Trump's private lawyers say they are seeking to hold the media accountable for false coverage.