President Donald Trump and the Justice Department expressed a firm stance following the withdrawal of subpoenas aimed at New York Times reporters in a criminal leak investigation related to Trump's use of a Qatari-donated Air Force One plane. Trump stated, "We’re not after journalists. We’re after leakers," emphasizing the need to identify individuals leaking classified information.
A spokesperson for the DOJ indicated that Judge Arun Subramanian threatened sanctions against the department unless the subpoenas were withdrawn, asserting that the grand jury had the right to hear from material witnesses. The spokesperson reiterated that the investigation into leaks compromising national security would continue.
The investigation was prompted by New York Times reporting questioning Trump's departure from a NATO summit in Turkey aboard an older aircraft instead of the Qatari-gifted jet, which lacked defensive countermeasures. The government expressed concerns over national security due to the presence of senior officials and reporters in foreign airspace during hostilities.
Judge Subramanian ordered the DOJ to submit internal communications regarding the subpoenas by Monday, following a contentious hearing where he questioned the accuracy of the DOJ's application. The DOJ subsequently withdrew subpoenas for phone and text records from several New York Times journalists after Subramanian indicated he would quash them.
Additionally, newly unsealed records revealed that Google received a subpoena for subscriber information linked to a phone number, which was later vacated by Subramanian after Google challenged the order. Trump reiterated his belief that journalists should disclose sources related to national security matters, referencing a similar argument he made in January 2023 regarding a leaked Supreme Court opinion.