Justice Department agrees to withdraw subpoenas of New York Times journalists over Air Force One reporting

Justice DepartmentJustice Department agrees to withdraw subpoenas of New York Times journalists over Air Force One reporting The Justice Department agreed to withdraw the subpoenas after a federal judge questioned why it hadn’t pursued other steps in its investigation. Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00The Justice Department subpoenaed four New York Times reporters after they reported on security concerns with the new Air Force One jet. Michael M. Santiago / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJuly 23, 2026, 5:01 PM EDTBy Adam Reiss and Alexandra MarquezThe Justice Department on Thursday agreed to withdraw grand jury subpoenas seeking testimony and records from New York Times reporters and their family members after a federal judge repeatedly questioned why prosecutors had issued the subpoenas before pursuing alternative investigative steps. Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.During a hearing Thursday before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan, prosecutor Sean Buckley initially resisted withdrawing the subpoenas, arguing that they should instead be held in abeyance so the government could preserve the records in case they were needed later. But Subramanian repeatedly pressed Buckley on the distinction, noting that the government could quash the subpoenas and return to court later with new applications if justified. “Doesn’t the law indicate that subpoenas are the last step? Not the first step but the last step?” Subramanian repeatedly asked. “Subpoenas issued to reporters for their records, they are not the first thing you do; they are the last thing you do,” the judge added, citing the “profound First Amendment issues” involved. Buckley acknowledged that the government had mistakenly obtained phone records associated with the mother and spouses of reporters after a public-source database incorrectly linked the numbers to the subject of the investigation. “That was an...