When NewsGuild-CWA Journalists Stand Up, Department of Justice Backs Down

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice issued subpoenas to New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One. The federal government subpoenaed several journalists represented by NewsGuild of New York (TNG-CWA Local 31003) after they reported that the plane lacked advanced security features found in the traditional Air Force One and that the Secret Service had urged the president to fly home in the older model.

The Trump administration has also sought the phone records of several journalists and their relatives in an effort to unmask confidential sources who provided information for articles about the security capabilities of the new jet.

The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that the federal government can neither restrain nor control reporting on matters in the public interest, which is protected under the First Amendment.

On July 23, a federal judge grilled Justice Department lawyers for nearly an hour over the State’s omission of pertinent information, violation of regulations regarding investigations, and the scope of the requested phone records, which included records belonging to the mother of one journalist and the spouses of two others.

Lawyers for the Department of Justice withdrew their subpoenas rather than face the court denying them.

Click here to read more about the hearing.

“It’s our job as journalists to seek truth, ask questions, and ethically report our findings,” said Jim Luttrell, unit chair and senior staff editor at The New York Times.