The Department of Justice has subpoenaed New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new Air Force One, a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump’s campaign against the media. The new jet, a gift from the U.S. ally that the administration spent $400 million on to retrofit and upgrade, entered service last week.

Press Freedom Concerns

The subpoenas seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week, the Times said, adding that federal agents delivered some subpoenas to the reporters at their homes. The journalists subpoenaed included Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt.

The Department of Justice said that reporters are not the targets, but rather those leaking classified information are. The department stated that it values and appreciates the important role that the press plays in the country, but also has a role to ensure that people entrusted with the nation’s secrets do not share classified information.

Pattern of Anti-Press Actions

Issuing subpoenas represents a further ramping up of Trump’s effort to threaten independent news organizations by leveraging the power of the federal government against them. This is part of a systematic pattern by the Republican president to attempt to undermine press freedom in order to shield himself from negative coverage.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.