The Trump administration has issued subpoenas to four reporters for the New York Times who wrote a piece questioning safety features on the Qatari-gifted new Air Force One. Reporters Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt were served subpoenas, in some cases by federal agents at their homes on Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The article was spurred by President Trump’s switching to the old Air Force One — pre-Qatari — on returning from the NATO summit in Turkey, then switching back to the new one in Great Britain.
The switcheroo came after Israel warned of new Iranian threats on Trump’s life. Widespread reporting on the plane switch, in print and on TV and not just by the NYT, questioned whether the refurbished new Boeing was up to snuff on all the necessary security features found on the older version.
The New York Times called the subpoenaing a “brazen act.” The National Press Club issued a statement, saying: “The National Press Club calls on the Justice Department to immediately withdraw these subpoenas and reaffirm a principle that has long distinguished the United States: a free and independent press serves the people, not the government.”
The Justice Department responded by saying the “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are…. “
“We … are not going to ignore the law and stop investigating the people who work in the administration and think it’s OK to leak classified information impacting national security.”
In other words, they want the reporters to rat on their sources, and confidentiality of sources is almost a Constitutional right for reporters.
Banana-Republic status, here we come!
PICTURED: Reporters Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen of the legendary Daily Planet being hauled in by the FBI for reporting Superman could be taken down by kryptonite.
