DOJ Drops NYT Reporter Subpoenas Over Air Force One Stories (3)

The Department of Justice dropped subpoenas to New York Times reporters over stories detailing security concerns with President Donald Trump's Qatari-donated Air Force One under pressure from a federal judge.

US District Judge Arun Subramanian cited 'profound First Amendment' issues raised by the case before skeptically questioning a government lawyer about the steps the government took before issuing demands that the journalists testify before a federal grand jury. Investigators should have exhausted other sources of information before issuing subpoenas to the press, the judge said at a hearing Thursday.

Subpoenas 'are not the first thing you do,' Subramanian told Sean Buckley, who is overseeing the case for the Manhattan US Attorney's Office. 'They are the last thing.'

The judge rejected Buckley's request to suspend the demands for two weeks rather than blocking them. Buckley said the subpoenas would be 'unilaterally' withdrawn, with the right to reissue them after pursuing additional investigative steps.

The subpoenas relate to anonymously-sourced Times stories detailing security concerns with the new Air Force One, which President Donald Trump flew to Turkey this month for a NATO summit. The stories cited unidentified people briefed on the plane's capabilities as saying it lacks some of the defensive capabilities of the older planes that have been used to transport the president.

A lawyer for the Times said the government's conduct is 'replete with bad faith,' which the paper will raise with the court if prosecutors refile the demands.

The initial subpoenas were issued July 10 by the US Attorney's Office, requiring the Times reporters to appear in court five days later.

In an order filed after the hearing, Subramanian noted the subpoenas to the reporters and to third-party phone service providers are now 'null and void.' If prosecutors want to reissue them, they'll have to come to the court first, he said.

'We are pleased that the government finally conceded that the subpoenas violated the law, but they should never have been issued in the first place,' David McCraw, the Times' senior vice president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement. 'The Times and our journalists will continue to report and seek the truth without fear or favor. We will not be deterred in the face of tactics like these.'

Prosecutors argued in a court filing on Monday that the articles 'presented a substantial national security concern' involving 'potential leaks of classified or national defense information' at a time when Trump, administration officials and reporters were flying outside the US at a time of hostilities with Iran.

The Qatari plane raised ethics and security concerns when it was donated to the US government last year. It is intended to serve as Air Force One until a new fleet from Boeing is completed in 2028. The plane is scheduled to be donated to Trump's presidential library after he leaves office.

The case is In re Grand Jury Subpoenas Dated July 10, 2026, 26-mc-00352, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).