Trump DOJ Subpoenaed WaPo, WSJ Reporters to Testify Before Federal Grand Jury — Withdrew After Outlets Challenged Them: Report

(Photos via: Idrees Abbas and Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department pushed to have reporters from the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal testify before a federal grand jury on “national security issues” — before yanking the subpoenas earlier this month, following pushback from both outlets.

The DOJ’s “extraordinary” attempt was reported by the The Washington Post on Tuesday. Details on what the Justice Department was looking to for are hazy, but WaPo reported an official familiar with the now-canceled testimonies said it was tied to national security.

WaPo national security reporter Ellen Nakashima was subpoenaed this spring, as well as three WSJ reporters; those reporters were not named in the report. None of the reporters testified before the grand jury, and the subpoenas were rescinded after both outlets fought the demands in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Here are some key details from Tuesday’s story:

The Wall Street Journal reported in May that the Justice Department had issued subpoenas to reporters seeking documents related to the paper’s coverage of the conflict in Iran. The outlet did not report at the time that its reporters were also called to testify before a grand jury.

In the May Journal article, Ashok Sinha, the chief communications officer of Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, said the subpoenas “represent an attack on constitutionally protected newsgathering” and vowed that the institution would “vigorously oppose this effort to stifle and intimidate essential reporting.”

It was not immediately clear why Justice Department prosecutors withdrew the subpoena to Nakashima. The Post had asked the court to quash it, and a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia held a closed hearing on the matter, according to the official.

The report added, “historically, it has been rare, though not unprecedented, for federal law enforcement officials to even subpoena journalists for materials around their reporting.”

WaPo noted that ABC reporter Mike Levine was subpoenaed during the Obama administration while he was working at Fox News in 2011, and it also pointed to Time reporter Matthew Cooper and New York Times reporter Judith Miller being compelled to appear before a grand jury in 2004 during George W. Bush’s first term. The story said that was the “most prominent” example in recent history, which happened after the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame had been reported.

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