DOJ will withdraw subpoenas against New York Times journalists over Air Force One reporting

The Justice Department on Thursday said it would withdraw subpoenas issued to several New York Times reporters earlier this month over their reporting on security concerns regarding the new Air Force One jet gifted by Qatar.

The development came during a hearing in a Manhattan courtroom in which Judge Arun Subramanian was weighing whether to grant the outlet's motion to quash, according to multiple reports.

"The government is prepared to unilaterally withdraw the subpoenas at this time," Sean Buckley, the chief counsel to U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, said at the hearing in U.S. District Court, according to the New York Times.

Four Times journalists -- Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt -- were hit with subpoenas on July 10, seeking to compel their testimony before a federal grand jury.

The Justice Department also sought the reporters' phone and text messaging records and, in some cases, those of family members, according to the newspaper.

The Trump administration was pushing to identify the confidential government sources who spoke with reporters about the donated jet's security capabilities, a move critics see as a brazen attempt to chill press freedom and suppress unfavorable coverage.

"The Subpoenas were issued in a bad faith effort to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against members of the press for reporting on subjects the President finds embarrassing," lawyers for the newspaper wrote in a court filing.

Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York had initially asked Subramanian to pause enforcement of the subpoenas for two weeks while it pursues additional investigative steps.

Buckley contended in a Tuesday letter to the judge that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from appearing before a grand jury for questioning "as to their knowledge of criminal conduct, even as to the identities of the sources."

Prosecutors also pushed back on the Times's argument that proper legal procedures and Justice Department regulations were not followed in issuing the subpoenas, calling the allegations "inaccurate."

"Without divulging classified or otherwise confidential and sensitive information, the movants are incorrect, for example, in asserting that the investigation lacks proper predication and that no investigative steps were taken prior to issuance of the subpoenas," Buckley wrote on behalf of Clayton, adding that prosecutors considered "among other things, the underlying national security equities at stake."

The newspaper reported earlier this month that President Trump flew on the old Air Force One jet when he left the NATO summit in Turkey because of a security precaution related to the war with Iran.

The journalists also wrote later in the week that the new plane lacked the "defensive countermeasures" of older models, including advanced antimissile capabilities, citing multiple officials who had been briefed on the retrofitting.

The Justice Department previously told The Hill in a statement that the Times reporters were not its targets but "those leaking classified are."

"We recognize there may always be natural tension there, but we are not going to ignore the law and stop investigating the people who work in the administration and think it's OK to leak classified information impacting national security," a spokesperson said.