Trump DOJ Hits NY Times Journos With Subpoenas Over Bombshell Air Force One Revelations in Stunning Escalation

Alex Brandon/AP Photo

The Department of Justice subpoenaed four journalists from The New York Times after their shocking report that security flaws with the new Air Force One forced President Donald Trump to switch planes as he left the NATO Summit in Turkey.

The subpoenas were served on reporters Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt on Friday, The Times reported, in some instances by federal agents who showed up at their homes.

The legal command came from Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Clayton was nominated last month by Trump to be the next Director of National Intelligence — after his interim choice, current Acting Director Bill Pulte, ignited a firestorm of criticism.

The quartet of reporters are expected to show up in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday to testify before a grand jury, The Times said.

The documents gave scant detail as to why the reporters were being called to the carpet in court, noting only that it was being issued “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.”

The paper described as a “brazen act”:

David McCraw, a lawyer for The Times, issued a statement Friday evening:

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. Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used. This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.

The Times reported Wednesday the president was leaving the NATO Summit in Ankara on the old Air Force One, instead of the new, $400 million retrofitted jet gifted to him by the government of Qatar. Subsequent reporting revealed security flaws in the new aircraft prompted the change.

When asked about the switch, Trump claimed the new jet was being sent to military bases to be shown to soldiers – an excuse which raised eyebrows.

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