Trump Administration Subpoenas Four New York Times Reporters Over Air Force One Story

The Trump administration’s war on what it calls“fake news”just escalated into legal territory. On Saturday, the administration issued subpoenas to four New York Times journalists — Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt — over a story the four reporters collaborated on just days earlier.

The article in question, titled“Security Precaution Led Trump to Use Old Air Force One in Leaving Turkey,”was published on Wednesday and detailed why President Trump ditched the new Air Force One — a plane gifted to the United States by Qatar — in favor of the older aircraft during his departure from Turkey. According to anonymous sources cited by the Times, the Secret Service had concerns about the new plane’s security capabilities before flying it back from Turkey. Trump denied that security issues prompted the switch.

Before the article even ran, an FBI official called the Times on Wednesday requesting the paper hold the story, citing national security concerns. That official also requested the names of the sources. The Times refused both requests, and the article was published as planned. Now, the subpoenas are demanding the journalists testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday regarding an alleged violation of federal criminal law — though the subpoenas notably lack specifics about what that violation might be.

This move signals something significant about how this administration intends to handle media coverage it views as unfavorable. Rather than simply dismissing the reporting or mounting a public counteroffensive, it’s turning to legal weaponry. The journalists are expected to appear before the grand jury, and sources familiar with the situation anticipate they’ll refuse to divulge their sources — a principle that sits at the heart of investigative journalism. What happens next could set a precedent for how aggressively a sitting administration can pursue reporters and their confidential sources.