Trump administration issues subpoenas to multiple journalists– Here’s why

The Trump administration issued subpoenas to several New York Times journalists on Friday, asking them to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan.

The subpoenas were sent after the report published by the media outlet mentioned security concerns involving the new Air Force One jet which President Trump received as a gift from Qatar.

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Under the recently issued subpoenas, the journalists will be forced to appear before the jury on Wednesday and to testify. As per the paper, the journalists who received subpoenas included Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt.

“The 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 it protects,” said the paper’s lawyer David McCraw in a Friday statement.

Speaking about the context of this development, it came after the President flew to the NATO summit in Ankara in the new Air Force One. But at the time of departure, he used one of the older-model Air Force One jets for a trip to Mildenhall. After reaching there, he switched to the one gifted by Qatar for the flight home.

The sudden swap was followed by the wave of strikes launched by both countries. Tehran also attacked other gulf countries. Given the border proximity between Turkey and Ankara, the speculations grew about the lack of sophisticated security and countermeasure systems in the jet.

Citing anonymous sources, The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the decision to swap the jets came after the Secret Service’s recommendations.

According to a follow-up report on Thursday, the replacement plane lacked key security capabilities found in its predecessor, such as antimissile technology.

Trump dismissed these security concerns at the time. Later the White House also refuted any kind of security-related shortcomings.

“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,” spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.