New York Times seeks to block subpoenas to reporters over Air Force One reporting

WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) – The New York Times has filed a court motion to block federal grand jury subpoenas to three of its journalists over their reporting on President Donald Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Jay Clayton, the U.S. ​Attorney in Manhattan, issued the subpoenas on Friday, shortly after the New York Times reported that the new Air Force One lacked some of the security features of the older aircraft. The newspaper’s reporters were ordered to appear on Wednesday before a grand jury panel in Manhattan federal court.

“As we set out in our motion, these subpoenas are brought in bad faith to punish The Times for its coverage,” David McCraw, senior vice president and deputy general counsel of the New York Times, said in a statement. 

“We are going to court to defend our journalists’ rights to report freely on the administration and to provide the public with stories that matter.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday that the reporters were not targets of an investigation, but the subpoenas were aimed at identifying people who leaked sensitive national security information.

McCraw has asked the court to make public the newspaper’s filing, which remains under seal. The news outlet, he said, “believes that the public has a right to information about this case.”

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Christian Martinez and Edmund Klamann)