Trump administration withdraws NYT reporter subpoenas in Qatari-gifted Air Force One probe

The Justice Department withdrew their subpoenas Thursday against three New York Times reporters and their family members after a federal judge accused prosecutors of sloppy legal work.

The subpoenas would have compelled the reporters and their loved ones to testify about their sources in front of a grand jury as part of its effort to unmask anonymous sources. 

The Justice Department has defended the issuance of subpoenas in the effort as trying to target the leakers, who are revealing classified information, and not journalists who are reporting the stories.

U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian blasted the Trump administration for issuing the subpoenas without trying all other methods to find the leakers first, according to the Associated Press.

“Subpoenas are not the first thing you do, they are the last thing you do,” the judge said. “When you see something like this, if this were a civil proceeding, what I would normally do is ask the parties to show causes why sanctions should not be issued."

The New York Times claimed in a letter-motion it filed over the weekend that the subpoenas were more expansive than previously reported, including by targeting the relatives of reporters, including one person's mother and two reporters' spouses.  

The three reporters included in the probe were reporting on security concerns regarding President Donald Trump's Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.

The letter also claimed that the records sought by the administration were looking for information from a wide date-range, dating back to the beginning of the year.

“That timeframe strongly suggests that the Department is using this investigation not to focus on any purported concerns arising from the July 8 and 9 articles, but instead to forage for information about the Journalists’ source relationships more broadly," the New York Times said.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.