U.S. Went After Phone Records of NYT Reporters – and Their Families

The Justice Department didn’t just subpoena New York Times reporters over a leak about Air Force One security concerns. It went after their families — people who never wrote a single word about Trump’s Qatari-donated jet. This kind of targeting echoes patterns seen in other surveillance app operations aimed at individuals beyond the primary subjects of investigation.

One subpoena targeted a reporter’s mother, a mental health professional whose phone records could expose confidential client communications. Another sought records from a reporter’s spouse who serves as general counsel at a major law firm, where attorney-client privilege carries real legal data weight. The Times has asked a federal court to block the subpoenas entirely, calling them a “bad-faith effort to intimidate the journalists and chill their ability to report on the administration,” according to the paper’s court filing. If you’ve ever talked to a journalist — or know someone who has — the implications here extend well beyond one newsroom.

How It Started

The stories ran on July 8 and 9. The subpoenas followed within days.

The Times reported “significant concerns” inside the federal government about the security capabilities of Trump’s new plane — the one Qatar donated, which Trump flew to Turkey and showcased before the Secret Service urged him back onto the older Air Force One. Grand jury subpoenas demanding three reporters testify about their sources arrived July 10. Phone record subpoenas hit carriers on July 10, 14, and 16. Trump directed FBI Director Kash Patel to oversee the investigation, according to the Times.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche insisted the DOJ was “not targeting reporters” but pursuing people who disclosed classified information that “everybody should want to protect.” DOJ spokeswoman Kiersten Pels stated that subpoenas were issued “in full compliance with federal law and internal department policy.”

Here’s what the Times flagged as irregular:

At least two subp…