DOJ Subpoenaed Phone Records From NYT Reporters and Their Family Members

The Trump administration sought the phone records of New York Times journalists and their family members, ostensibly to gather evidence that could reveal who leaked information to the publication this month regarding a Qatari-gifted jet that is meant to become the next Air Force One.

Press freedom advocates have called the move a “gross” overreach to stifle reporting on the Trump administration in general.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) began an investigation into the Times after the paper had reported that the Qatari jet had deep security flaws. President Donald Trump had flown on the jet earlier this month to attend a NATO conference, but after his Secret Service expressed concerns about his safety, he flew home on the older Air Force One instead.

Trump had originally claimed that the change in plans was to show off the new jet to military service members stationed in Europe. But the Times later reported that security concerns were the real reason for the decision to fly the older model. Trump was reportedly outraged by the reporting and tasked FBI Director Kash Patel with leading the investigation into the leak.

In a court filing made on Saturday, lawyers for The New York Times disclosed that the publication recently became aware that the White House had subpoenaed third-party phone records of journalists in order to root out who leaked the information about the Qatari-gifted jet’s security flaws. In addition to reporters’ records, the administration also sought the phone and text data of their family members, including spouses of writers and even one journalist’s mother.

On Monday, the Times reported on its motion, indicating the action was meant to “unmask the confidential sources who had provided information for articles about the security capabilities of President Trump’s new Air Force One jet.”

But notably, the subpoenaed records dated back to the start of 2026 — several months before the report on the jet was published.

“That time frame strongly suggests that the department is using this investigation not to focus on any purported concerns arising from the July 8 and 9 articles, but instead to forage for information about the journalists’ source relationships more broadly,” read a message from the paper’s lawyers directed to United States District Court Judge Arun Subramanian.

New York Times media correspondent Michael M. Grynbaum wrote on Monday that “the government’s actions amount to an extraordinarily aggressive and unorthodox attempt by the Trump administration to unearth the confidential sources of independent journalists whose reporting had angered the president.”

The White House, however, has defended its actions.

“Any subpoena issued by the Department of Justice is done so in full compliance with federal law and internal department policy,” a DOJ spokesperson said.

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern described the administration’s actions as “gross,” and part of a “never-ending effort to harass and intimidate reporters who reveal [the Trump White House’s] incompetence.”

“The administration’s own guidelines say pursuing journalists is a last resort,” Stern noted. “But instead, it’s looking for any excuse to snoop on reporters and their relatives, because this has nothing to do with national security and everything to do with chilling journalism.”

If anything, the administration should be grateful for the report, Stern added.

“The Times’ reporting actually bolstered national security by ensuring that Trump and those who travel with him, including journalists, aren’t flying on an unsafe plane to serve the president’s personal vanity. Trump’s hangers-on should be sending the Times thank-you cards, not subpoenas,” Stern concluded.