The US Department of Justice has issued subpoenas to journalists from The New York Times after they wrote articles questioning security measures on President Donald Trump’s new Air Force One, a gift from Qatar.
The paper has described the move, which summons the journalists to testify before a federal grand jury on Wednesday, as “an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations.”
Trump, who during his first term accused the press of being an “enemy” of the American people, has taken a number of aggressive steps to contain the media since returning to the White House.
What did the journalists say about the new Air Force One?
The journalists’ stories were prompted by the fact that Trump, who flew to Turkey last week on the new Air Force One, departed the country on one of the older Air Force One jets, which took him to a Royal Air Force base in England.
From there, the president swapped back to the new Air Force One for the flight back to the US.
In its reports, the New York Times cited anonymous sources as saying that the Secret Service had urged the switch in Turkey amid security concerns linked to the collapse of a shaky ceasefire with neighboring Iran.
The reports said that the new Air Force One lacks some of the sophisticated security features of the older aircraft, such as antimissile defense.
Trump has denied that security concerns were a factor in his use of the two different planes.
However, when asked by reporters accompanying him on the flight whether there had been threats by Iran to Air Force One, he said: “I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.”
Donald Trump’s new Air Force One raises security concerns
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Subpoenas criticized as a threat to press freedom
The Department of Justice’s move has prompted an outcry from journalism advocacy groups, who have criticized what they see as an attack on press freedom and constitutional rights.
The National Press Club has urged the department to “immediately” withdraw the subpoenas.
“When federal agents arrive at the homes of journalists with subpoenas, it is not ordinary law enforcement,” the club said in a statement. “It is an extraordinary assault on the freedom of the press that strikes at the heart of the First Amendment.”
A lawyer for The New York TimesDavid McCraw, also slammed the move.
“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” he said in a statement.
Trump’s campaign against critical media
This is not the first time the Department of Justice has issued subpoenas against reporters under the Trump administration.
Earlier this year, it handed some to reporters at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journalbut later withdrew them.
Trump himself has filed lawsuits against news outlets he believes are too critical of him and even threatened to revoke TV broadcast licenses and cut funding to some media entities.
Previous access to the Pentagon for journalists has also been curbed, while the White House has even published a list of media outlets it considers as publishing “fake news.”
