The Trump administration reporter subpoena battle widened after Donald Trump’s administration subpoenaed New York Times reporters in a leak investigation tied to a story about problems with the plane he received from Qatar. On Monday, the administration also sought months of phone records for the reporters and their family members.
James Risen and 2015
James Risen said a decade ago that experts expected him to be the last reporter subpoenaed in a leak investigation, after he won a seven-year battle with the federal government in 2015. His case involved his refusal to reveal confidential sources for a story about a botched CIA operation.
The Times and Qatar
reported earlier this month that the Trump administration had subpoenaed its reporters over the Qatar plane story. The reporting said there had been security problems with the plane that led to the switch, and Trump flew to the recent Nato summit in Turkey on the Qatar-provided plane before leaving on the old Air Force One.
Trump administration and phone records
The phone-record demand reached beyond the reporters themselves and into their family members’ records going back months. That broadens the case from a single leak inquiry into a wider effort to map who the reporters contacted and when.
The administration says the story involved sensitive national security information, but the reporting describes the Qatar plane story as routine and calls the claims laughable. Trump also said on Monday that the plane needed to be “maxed out,” which keeps the dispute centered on the plane itself as the legal fight moves ahead. The case should be quickly tossed out of court.
