Trump’s Former Chief of Staff Predicts ‘The Administration Will Lose’ Legal Battle With New York Times

Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney predicted that President Donald Trump’s most recent effort to strong-arm The New York Times will fail.

This month, the administration subpoenaed several Times journalists over their reporting on the new Air Force One, which was gifted to Trump by the Qatari royal family. Some of the subpoenas, which order the reporters to testify in front of a federal grand jury in Manhattan, were delivered in person by federal agents. The subpoenas are vague and say that the government’s investigation is “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.”

The reporters’ stories focused on security issues with the jet, which had been retrofitted in the mold of other Air Force One planes, but the Qatari-gifted jet was recently taken out of service. On July 8, the Times reported that Trump returned from Turkey on the old Air Force One instead of the Qatari aircraft he used to travel there. The paper stated that Trump did so “as a security precaution.”

The Times responded defiantly to the subpoenas, stating, “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 federal government has also sought phone records of the journalists and their relatives. Last week, the Times filed a motion asking a judge to quash the subpoenas.

Mulvaney, who was Trump’s chief of staff in the first administration, appeared on NewsNation on Monday, where he said the president should be prepared to take a loss.

“My guess is the administration will lose this,” Mulvaney said. “I’m not sure what the basis is for [an investigation]. Was there a national security leak? I have no idea.”

He went on to add, “I would be asking the exact same questions The New York Times was asking. Look, Trump, when he gets upset, he lashes out.”

Watch above via NewsNation.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!