DOJ drops subpoenas for NYT reporters after security reporting on Trump's Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8. Alpha Score: NYT 52, BA 37.
Prosecutors told a federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday the Department of Justice is withdrawing subpoenas it had obtained for New York Times reporters who wrote about President Donald Trump's new Air Force One jet.
The move came as Judge Arun Subramanian was weighing a motion by the Times to quash the subpoenas, according to MSNBC's reporting from the hearing.
The DOJ issued subpoenas July 10 seeking to force Times reporters to testify before a federal grand jury, the newspaper reported. Federal agents delivered several of the subpoenas to reporters' homes, the paper said.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, whom Trump has nominated as director of national intelligence, issued the subpoenas.
The Times reported Monday that the DOJ told the newspaper late last week it had obtained subpoenas for third-party phone service providers seeking journalists' phone and text messaging records. One subpoena targeted the phone records of a reporter's mother, the newspaper said.
The investigation followed a Times article about security concerns with Trump's new Air Force One, a Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8.
The Times reported July 8 that Trump flew from Turkey "on the old Air Force One instead of his new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 as a security precaution related to the resumption of hostilities with Iran."
Citing people briefed on the new plane's capabilities, the paper reported "the new plane does not have all the features of the older plane" in terms of security.
David McCraw, the Times' lawyer, called the subpoenas "brazen" in a July 11 statement. "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," he said.
The withdrawal removes a legal risk for New York Times Co, whose Alpha Score sits at 52/100, labeled Mixed. Boeing, manufacturer of the 747-8 involved in the story, carries an Alpha Score of 37/100, also Mixed. The plane's security flaws were a reputational issue for BA, the DOJ's retreat suggests the government is not pursuing criminal charges related to the reporting.
Judge Subramanian had been considering the Times' motion to quash. That motion is now moot with the DOJ's withdrawal. No further proceedings were scheduled.
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