US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department will withdraw the summons issued to journalists New York Times (NYT)prosecutors said at a hearing Thursday.
The Justice Department issued a subpoena demanding that NYT journalists disclose sources who contributed to one of the newspaper’s reports about security concerns. The President is flying on Air Force One donated by Qatar.
The luxury plane lacked some security measures, including anti-missile protection, the report said.
The Trump administration, in turn, said that the NYT coverage raised “substantial national security concerns”.
Lawyers representing the newspaper had challenged the Trump administration’s request for reporters’ phone records and grand jury testimony, calling it an effort to intimidate the press.
Federal prosecutors had agreed to “ex partely withdraw the subpoena at this time” in a hearing before District Judge Arun Subramanian, the NYT said.
NYT: Government ‘violated the First Amendment’
NYT lawyers said these actions “violate the most basic First Amendment protections for newsgathering activity.”
“They represent the latest in a growing series of attacks on journalists to intimidate them from engaging in the reporting that the Trump administration openly despises,” the lawyers said.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomed the conclusion of the case, saying it was a victory not only for the NYT but also “for every journalist who relies on confidential sources to report in the public interest.”
“The court reaffirms that the government cannot use its legal powers to intimidate journalists or curtail press freedom,” RSF said.
What did the NYT say about the new Air Force One?
The controversial plane was a gift to Trump last year from Qatar’s royal family.
The journalists’ stories were prompted by the fact that Trump, who flew to Turkey earlier this month on the new Air Force One, departed the country on one of the older Air Force One jets, which took him to a Royal Air Force base in England.
From there, the President boarded the new Air Force One for the flight back to the United States.
In his report, new York Times Said the Secret Service had urged the change in Türkiye amid security concerns over the breakdown of a shaky ceasefire with neighboring Iran.
The new Air Force One lacks some of the advanced security features of the older planes, such as anti-missile defense, the report said.
Trump has denied that security concerns were a factor in his use of two different aircraft.
Edited by: Sean Sinico and Carl Sexton
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