Justice Department Subpoenas Four New York Times Reporters Over Air Force One Story

On the evening of Friday, July 10, 2026, federal agents delivered grand jury subpoenas to New York Times journalists at their homes, the newspaper said. The four reporters bylined on a July 8 article about the Qatari-donated Air Force One — Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt — each received a subpoena seeking testimony before a federal grand jury in Manhattan the following Wednesday "in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law." The subpoenas were issued by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York. Before publication, a senior FBI official had asked a Times reporter and editor to hold the story and to identify its sources; both refused.

Justice Department guidelines have long treated compelled testimony from journalists as a last resort, to be sought only after other avenues are exhausted. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said the subpoenas break from that practice. Clayton is also President Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, with a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing set for July 15, placing the same official at the center of a leak investigation aimed at reporters and a pending intelligence confirmation.

The Times called the subpoenas "a brazen act" and an attempt to intimidate journalists. No charges have been announced and no court has ruled on the subpoenas.