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🇺🇸 United States /Crime & Justice

NYT Moves to Quash Subpoenas for Reporters' Phone Records

From CBS News · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Justice Department sought phone records of New York Times reporters investigating security systems on a Qatar-donated Air Force One.
  • The Times is moving to quash subpoenas issued to third-party phone service providers for reporters and their family members.
  • Lawyers argue the subpoenas are abusive, improper, and part of a bad-faith effort to intimidate journalists and chill reporting on President Trump's second term.

The Justice Department's pursuit of confidential sources who spoke to The New York Times about the security systems on a Qatar-donated Air Force One plane has led the newspaper to move to quash subpoenas for its reporters' phone records and those of their family members.

in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law

— SubpoenaThe subpoenas did not allege specific wrongdoing but stated the reporters were asked to testify regarding this alleged violation.

The Times revealed that several journalists received grand jury subpoenas on the same day the organization reported that the Secret Service had advised President Trump to use the older presidential aircraft instead of the new one when departing from Turkey. Trump had flown on the new jet to a NATO summit, but questions arose about its defensive military capabilities during the meeting.

The subpoenas did not specify any alleged wrongdoing, only that the reporters were asked to testify "in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law." They were compelled to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan.

abusive and improper subpoenas

— David McCrawThe New York Times' deputy general counsel described the subpoenas the newspaper is seeking to quash.

David McCraw, the Times' senior vice president and deputy general counsel, stated that the company is moving to quash the "abusive and improper subpoenas." Court filings show the paper is seeking to block new subpoenas sent to third-party phone service providers for the phone records of reporters and their relatives, including spouses and a mother.

are deeply troubling for obvious reasons

— The New York Times lawyersThe lawyers described the government's disclosures in the case.

Lawyers for the Times contend that the government's disclosures are "deeply troubling" and represent "bad-faith efforts to intimidate the Journalists and chill their ability to report" on Trump's second term. They argue that two subpoenas seeking phone records dating back to January 1 – months before the reporting on the plane's security concerns began – suggest the department is "forage[ing] for information about the journalists' source relationships more broadly."

bad-faith efforts to intimidate the Journalists and chill their ability to report

— The New York Times lawyersThe lawyers argued that the Justice Department's actions were intended to intimidate journalists and hinder their reporting.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CBS News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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