Trump Defends Subpoenaing Journalists to Find Leakers: 'The Way You Find Them Is Through Journalists'

A day after the Justice Department withdrew subpoenas that would have compelled three New York Times reporters to testify about their sources, President Trump publicly endorsed the practice. Asked in the Oval Office on July 24, 2026, he said: "We're not after journalists. We're after leakers. We're after people that are cowards, people that are unpatriotic, people that are treasonous in many cases," adding, "And the way you find them is through journalists." Asked whether subpoenaing reporters' family members was appropriate, he declined to draw a line while maintaining the administration acts within the law. Google was also reported subpoenaed in the underlying leak investigation, which concerns coverage of the Qatari-donated aircraft intended to serve as Air Force One.

The withdrawal followed a federal judge's criticism of the department for treating subpoenas as a first rather than a last resort and for failing to follow its own procedures. Presidential endorsement of the underlying approach signals the retreat was tactical, which bears on whether the department's internal news-media guidelines operate as a constraint.

The three subpoenas are withdrawn. The leak investigation continues, and the presiding judge has sought internal Justice Department communications about how they were authorized.