{"id":49155,"date":"2026-07-12T12:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T19:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49155"},"modified":"2026-07-12T12:58:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T19:58:18","slug":"should-shock-the-conscience-trump-admin-escalates-war-on-press-with-subpoena-of-new-york-times-reporters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/should-shock-the-conscience-trump-admin-escalates-war-on-press-with-subpoena-of-new-york-times-reporters\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Should Shock the Conscience\u2019: Trump Admin Escalates War on Press With Subpoena of New York Times Reporters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"'Should<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The New York Times logo is seen on the building\u2019s facade in New York City on January 22, 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo by Angela Weiss\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brad Reed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jul 11, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump administration<\/a> on Friday escalated its war with the press by subpoenaing several reporters at The New York Times<\/a> days after the paper published a story<\/a> on Wednesday that detailed security concerns about the luxury jet the Qatari government gave to President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According<\/a> to the Times, the subpoenas are attempting to force reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday next week, a move that the paper describes as an \u201cextraordinary escalation in President Trump\u2019s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"AG<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Trump DOJ\u2019s Use of Subpoenas Against Journalists Is \u2018Straight Out of the Dictator\u2019s Playbook\u2019: Press Freedom Group<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Protest<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

US News Outlet Sues Trump Admin Over Refusal to Release \u2018Secret List of Activists\u2019<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The issued subpoenas do not specifically name the Times\u2019 reporting on the Qatari jet as the reason for the grand jury probe, although they were given to all four journalists\u2014Tyler Pager, Julian Barnes, Eric Schmitt, and Eric Lipton\u2014who reported the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the Times noted, a senior official at the FBI<\/a> had asked the paper to hold off publishing its story on the jet before it came out on Wednesday, citing unspecified national security concerns about its content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David McCraw, the top attorney representing the Times\u2019 newsroom, denounced the subpoenas as an attack on the freedom of the press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 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<\/a> it protects,\u201d said McGraw. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is highly uncommon for government investigators to subpoena journalists when they are probing national security leaks, as such actions are generally seen as having a chilling effect on reporters\u2019 ability to gather information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rick Stengel, former under secretary of state for President Barack Obama<\/a>, said that the Times\u2019 reporting on the Qatari jet, whose security upgrades are being financed with US tax dollars, is completely within the scope of constitutional protections for press freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reporting that the Times journalists have been subpoenaed for is exactly the kind of journalism<\/a> the First Amendment<\/a> is designed to protect: matters involving national security and taxpayer dollars,\u201d wrote<\/a> Stengel in a Saturday social media<\/a> post. \u201cReporting that embarrasses a president is protected speech.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin also denounced the Trump administration for trying to drag reporters into a grand jury investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis action by the US government to subpoena reporters for reporting legitimate news on security concerns about Air Force One should alarm every American,\u201d Griffin wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seth Stern, chief of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, accused the Trump administration of abusing government power not to defend national security, but to protect the president from personal humiliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve long said that when the government claims it needs to investigate journalists to protect national security, it really means its own reputational security,\u201d said Stern. \u201cThis is as clear an example as you can get. The administration\u2019s embarrassment that it reportedly charged taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to retrofit a flying bribe that still isn\u2019t secure enough for hostile times does not supersede the need for a free and independent press.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the second time in recent weeks that the Trump administration has tried to subpoena reporters to compel their testimony in grand jury investigations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June, the US Department of Justice<\/a> issued<\/a> subpoenas for national security reporters at The Washington Post<\/a> and The Wall Street<\/a> Journal related to national security leaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subpoenas against both news organizations were withdrawn after they issued legal challenges in sealed filings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brad Reed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brad Reed is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New York Times logo is seen on the building\u2019s facade in New York City on January 22, 2026.  (Photo by Angela Weiss\/AFP via Getty Images) \u201cThis brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2184],"tags":[2125],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49155"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49156,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49155\/revisions\/49156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}