Berk Kutay Gokmen
11 July 2026•Update: 11 July 2026
The Trump administration on Friday issued subpoenas to several New York Times journalists following the newspaper’s reporting this week on security concerns surrounding President Donald Trump’s new Air Force One, which was donated by Qatar.
The subpoenas, which order the reporters to appear before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday, marked a significant escalation in the administration’s campaign against independent news organizations, The New York Times said.
The Times condemned the move.
“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,” said David McCraw, The Times’s top newsroom lawyer, in a statement on Friday.
“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,” Mr. McCraw wrote. “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 subpoenas provide few details, requiring only that the journalists testify “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.” They were issued by Jay Clayton, the US attorney in Manhattan, who was recently nominated by Trump to serve as director of national intelligence.
Representatives for the White House and the US attorney’s office in Manhattan did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday evening.
Multiple press reports claimed that while Trump flew the Qatari-gifted Air Force One to a NATO summit in Türkiye, on his return trip he used an older Air Force One model due to security concerns over the resumption of hostilities with Iran.
The move raised renewed questions over the refitting of the Qatari plane and whether it was adequate. The refit cost some $400 million to $1 billion in US taxpayers’ money, and critics said the gift was illegal in part because Trump is set to take possession of the plane after the end of his term, rather than his successor at the White House.
The Trump administration has challenged press outlets in ways not seen before he took office, such as threatening to revoke broadcast licenses.
The New York Times has also faced scrutiny over its Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting of the investigation into alleged links between US President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
