DOJ Subpoenas NYT Reporters in Leak Investigation

As we reported, when President Donald Trump was abroad in Turkey for the NATO summit, he had a bit of a airplane change. He despatched the new Qatari-gifted airplane forward to the United Kingdom, and ended up leaving Turkey on Wednesday on the previous Air Force One that he’d used for years. 

Trump talked about that the new airplane had been despatched forward to RAF Mildenhall so American service members might see it. But there have been also studies revealed by the NYT about security issues. On the flight out of Turkey, reporters requested why that they had to decrease their blinds on the previous Air Force One. Because of the “sleazebags” now we have to deal with, Trump told them. 

🚨 UPDATE: New York Times reporters have been SUBPOENAED after reporting that President Trump had to change to the previous Air Force One in Turkey due to security causes, NYT claims

FAFO. FIND THE LEAKER! pic.twitter.com/7LvYgSHHk1

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 11, 2026

On Thursday, The Times reported that the new Air Force One, a Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8, lacked some of the superior security options of the older plane, including antimissile capabilities. Both articles cited sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about delicate security points.

READ MORE: ‘#1 on the eradicate List’ — Is That Why Trump Ditched the Brand-New $400M AF1 for NATO Departure?

THE ESSEX FILES: Trump’s Air Force One Swap Prioritizes Security and Honors Our Troops

The White House Communications director, Steven Cheung, said that the new plane was “state-of-the-art” and had been “fitted with “high-level security protocols that guarantee the security of the president and his employees.” Cheung said there were many enemies who had their “sights” on Trump and “we use every instrument at our disposal – including distraction and misdirection – to tackle those threats.” 

Then, New York Times reporters obtained subpoenas on Friday that search to have them testify before a federal grand jury on Wednesday, July 15, according to the NYT story linked above. 

The Times journalists who obtained subpoenas included Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt, who reported on Wednesday that Mr. Trump had departed Turkey on the previous Air Force One as a security precaution at the urging of the Secret Service.

The FBI requested the paper to maintain the story for security causes before it ran. The Times admits they refused. 

Before the Wednesday article was revealed, a senior official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation contacted a reporter and a senior editor at The Times to ask that the article be held, calling it an issue of national security, according to a particular person acquainted with the dialog. The F.B.I. official declined to clarify the security issue. The official also requested The Times to disclose its sources for the article; the newspaper refused to do so. (A spokesman for The Times, Charlie Stadtlander, confirmed the account.)

Why would you refuse to do that, particularly given the affirmation of an assassination menace against Trump, notably from Iran? That would appear basic. 

READ MORE: Iran’s ‘Very Specific Plot’ to Assassinate Trump Foiled by Warning From Israeli Intelligence

The NY Times is now throwing a match about the subpoenas, claiming it ought to “shock the conscience” over freedom of the press. 

But the Department of Justice principally threw a damper on their match, the NYT wrote: 

In a assertion on Saturday, a Justice Department spokeswoman said that “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”

“We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but D.O.J. also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information,” said the spokeswoman, Emily Covington. She added, “We recognize there may always be natural tension there, but we are not going to ignore the law.”

Meanwhile, where have been the suits when Barack Obama was actually going after the media? 

which us president subpoenaed the most journalists? pic.twitter.com/jRIyNKt1Qu

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) July 11, 2026

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.

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