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New York Times Journalists Summoned to Court Over Air Force One Security Reporting
🇵🇱 Poland /Crime & Justice

New York Times Journalists Summoned to Court Over Air Force One Security Reporting

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Several New York Times journalists have been summoned to court by the U.S. Justice Department over their reporting on security concerns related to Air Force One.
  • The journalists are expected to testify before a federal grand jury in New York regarding articles published about a new Boeing 747-8 gifted to President Trump by Qatar.
  • The New York Times described the summonses as an "unusual escalation" and an attempt to "intimidate and pressure independent media."

The U.S. Justice Department has summoned several New York Times journalists to testify before a federal grand jury in New York concerning their reporting on security concerns surrounding Air Force One. The summonses are related to articles published about a new Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which was reportedly gifted to President Donald Trump by Qatar.

According to The New York Times, journalists Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt received the summonses for articles published on Wednesday and Thursday. These reports, citing anonymous sources, suggested that the White House decided against using the new Air Force One for the initial part of President Trump's journey back from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The aircraft in question was the one Trump used to travel to the summit.

The appearance of federal law enforcement officers in the homes of journalists must shock every American who believes in the constitution and the freedom of the press it defends.

— David McCrawThe New York Times' chief legal counsel commenting on the summonses issued to the newspaper's journalists.

Further reporting by The New York Times indicated that the decision to change aircraft was due to the luxury Boeing 747-8 lacking the advanced defensive systems, including anti-missile capabilities, present in the older version. President Trump, however, denied these reports on his Truth Social platform, stating the new Air Force One was sent to RAF Mildenhall in the UK for American soldiers stationed there to view.

In response to the summonses, The New York Times characterized the Justice Department's actions as an "unusual escalation" aimed at "intimidating and pressuring independent media." David McCraw, the newspaper's chief legal counsel, stated, "The appearance of federal law enforcement officers in the homes of journalists must shock every American who believes in the constitution and the freedom of the press it defends." He added that the action should be viewed solely as an attempt to block information by intimidating journalists and hindering their work.

This brazen act must be viewed solely as an attempt to block information about what is happening in the country by intimidating journalists and preventing them from doing their work.

— David McCrawThe New York Times' chief legal counsel describing the Justice Department's actions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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