Trump administration subpoena NY Times reporters to testify after Air Force One security story

nypost.com

The Trump administration subpoenaed several New York Times journalists after the newspaper reported that the president swapped the White House’s newly refurbished $400 million jet gifted by the Qataris while on a trip to Turkey over a “security precaution.”

The subpoenas, issued Friday, order the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday.

The paper blasted the move as anti-free press and said it should “shock the conscience.”

The new £300m Air Force One, a Boeing VC-25B Bridge jet, landing at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk.

The Trump administration subpoenaed New York Times journalists following the paper’s report on the security capabilities of the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One. Stewart Jack / SWNS

It comes days after publication of the report, which questioned whether the new plane, a Boeing 747-8 featuring expansive room and luxury finishings, had been “retrofitted with sufficient security measures” during the rush to get it in the air.

It cited lawmakers’ concerns about whether the job allowed for adding “an advanced missile defense system and other modifications.”

The report also credited the Secret Service with pushing for the swap.

President Trump speaks on Air Force One.

President Trump said during the trip he was No. 1 on Iran’s “kill list.” He said the new plane, on its first international trip as Air Force One, was being diverted so US troops could get to see it. Getty Images

The subpoenas, issued by US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, called on journalists to testify “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law,” according to the Times.  

In an unusual move, Trump flew to the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey aboard the new aircraft for its first international trip as Air Force One, then announced he was flying home on an older model to allow US troops in Europe to view the new one.

He flew back on one of the older modified Boeing 747s, then joined the new one at Mildenhall Royal Air Force base in the UK for the final leg of his trip home.

The administration, without explicitly denying security reports, said it relied on “distraction and misdirection” to contend with threats.

The New York Times building with the newspaper's masthead logo above its glass entrance.

The Times blasted the move as an attack on a free press. AFP via Getty Images

At the same summit, Trump said he was No. 1 on Iran’s ‘kill list.”

It is one of several incidents where the administration has sought to force reporters to talk about reporting on unwanted leaks.

Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One.

The US Air Force estimated the retrofit would cost $400 million. Trump called the new jet the “best plane ever built.” AFP via Getty Images

In January, the FBI searched the home of a Washington Post reporter as part of a leak probe into a government contractor.

The Justice Department this year subpoenaed Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reporters as part of another probe, only to later withdraw them in June after the news organizations fought the move.