NEW YORK: The US government reluctantly withdrew subpoenas on Thursday that would have required three New York Times writers to testify about their sources for articles regarding President Donald Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet after being criticized by a federal judge for careless legal work.
The withdrawals in US District Court came after an impressive exchange between government attorneys and a clearly agitated Judge Arun Subramanian. They coincide with the Trump administration’s aggressive pursuit of news outlets whose coverage and reporting it finds objectionable, as well as its efforts to suppress government leaks.
The government’s retreat was the most recent example of the Justice Department’s aggressive attempts to force journalists to reveal their sources in front of a grand jury, despite strong legal opposition and a harsh judgment from a judge. Similar subpoenas that attempted to force testimony from reporters for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal in Virginia regarding distinct national security coverage were recently withdrawn by the administration.
According to laws and regulations pertaining to subpoenas served on journalists, which stipulate that they should be issued as a last resort in an investigation, Subramanian stated that he would have otherwise granted the newspaper’s request to reject the subpoenas.
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