The Trump administration has issued subpoenas to five New York Times journalists who reported on security questions involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One. This move has been seen as a troubling escalation of the administration’s campaign to control and intimidate independent media outlets.
Reaction from Media Advocates
Media advocates and analysts have expressed dismay at the tactic, with Jodie Ginsberg of the Committee to Protect Journalists stating that the subpoenas are an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations.
Frank Sesno, a former CNN White House bureau chief, called the subpoenas ‘dangerous and uncharted territory, but merely an extension of what we have seen from this administration and president.’ He noted that the administration has used the levers of power to intimidate and demonize professional journalists who report stories that are unfavorable to the administration’s desired narrative.
The subpoenas were delivered to reporters at their homes, seeking to force them to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan. The New York Times has vowed to fight the subpoenas, with executive editor Joseph Kahn stating that the law protects news gatherers from this sort of retaliatory abuse of prosecutorial power.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
