Times fights DOJ bid for reporters’ family phone records
The New York Times says the Justice Department sought phone data tied to journalists and relatives in an Air Force One leak probe.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
4 min read
The New York Times is asking a federal judge to block subpoenas seeking phone records for its reporters and some of their relatives as the Justice Department investigates confidential sources behind coverage of security concerns involving a Qatar-donated presidential aircraft.
According to court filings published by the Times on Monday, the Justice Department sent subpoenas to outside phone service providers for records linked to several Times journalists. The filings said the demands also covered relatives, including the spouses of two reporters and the mother of one reporter.
The legal fight follows Times reporting on warnings about the new plane used as Air Force One. The Times said earlier this month that some of its journalists received grand jury subpoenas the same day the newspaper reported that the Secret Service had advised President Trump to use the older presidential aircraft to leave Turkey.
Mr. Trump had flown the new aircraft to a NATO summit in Ankara, according to CBS News. While he was there, questions were raised about whether the jet had the defensive capabilities expected for presidential travel.
The original subpoenas did not accuse the reporters of specific wrongdoing, the Times said. They directed the journalists to appear before a federal grand jury in Manhattan in connection with “an alleged violation of federal criminal law.”
The Times said those subpoenas were signed by Jay Clayton, whom Mr. Trump nominated to serve as director of national intelligence. Clayton previously served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
David McCraw, the Times’ senior vice president and deputy general counsel, said Wednesday that the company had moved to quash what he called “abusive and improper subpoenas.”
In the court papers, lawyers for the Times accused the Justice Department of trying to intimidate the journalists and limit their reporting on Mr. Trump’s second term. They also argued that the department failed to follow its own rules for subpoenas involving news organizations because it waited a week to notify the Times about the phone-record demands.
The Times’ lawyers told U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian that two subpoenas sought records dating back to Jan. 1, well before the July reports about the plane’s security features. They argued that the date range showed the government was looking beyond the published stories and into the reporters’ broader source relationships.
A Justice Department spokesperson said the subpoenas comply with federal law and the department’s internal policies.
Subramanian has paused enforcement of the subpoenas while he considers the Times’ motions, according to a court order. The Times said a hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
CBS News also reported that the Secret Service advised Mr. Trump to use the older aircraft. U.S. officials told CBS News earlier this month that the new plane had been put into service quickly and did not have some security features officials wanted. A former U.S. government official told CBS News there had been concern that the plane did not have enough time or funding to be fitted with defensive systems meeting Air Force One standards.
Mr. Trump and the White House initially denied that there were security concerns involving the aircraft. Asked about threats from Iran, Mr. Trump said, “I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.”
White House spokesman Steven Cheung said earlier this month that the aircraft was “state-of-the-art” and had security protocols to protect the president and staff. On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CBS News the plane was safe but would receive upgrades in the fall, expected to take about a month. She said Mr. Trump would use the older Air Force One during that work.
Qatar’s royal family gave the jet to Mr. Trump last year, according to CBS News. The gift drew criticism from lawmakers who raised security and ethics concerns. The plane underwent about 10 months of work before Mr. Trump first flew on it on July 1.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.