DOJ Sought Phone Records of NY Times Journalists, Their Family Members After Air Force One Report

The DOJ issued subpoenas to phone providers seeking records of ‘one journalist’s mother and two journalists’ spouses,’ according to The New York Times.

U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One following his first flight aboard the Boeing 747-8 that Qatar gifted the United States to use for executive travel, upon arrival at Bismarck Municipal Airport in Bismarck, North Dakota, on July 1, 2026. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Subpoenas from the Department of Justice (DOJ) sought phone records of New York Times journalists and some of their family members to identify the confidential sources behind news articles on security concerns related to the Qatari-gifted jet used as Air Force One, according to a motion unsealed on July 20.

The New York Times published a report on July 8 stating that the Secret Service had urged President Donald Trump to use an older model Air Force One jet, instead of the new Qatari-gifted jet, to leave Turkey after the NATO summit as a security precaution.

The outlet published a second report on July 9, citing anonymous sources, alleging that the new Air Force One aircraft lacked some defensive features, including anti-missile capabilities. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton later issued subpoenas to the reporters to find out the sources who provided the information.

Lawyers for the NY Times said in a July 18 letter that the government first informed the publication on July 17 that it had issued subpoenas to third-party phone providers seeking records for phone numbers used by “one journalist’s mother and two journalists’ spouses.”

The lawyers said the mother in question serves as a mental health professional with confidential client relationships, while one of the spouses in question is the general counsel of a major law firm.

“The disclosure of additional subpoenas for confidential newsgathering information of the journalists is deeply concerning, revealing yet another instance of the alarming pattern of conduct detailed in the motion to quash,” the lawyers wrote.

“These actions demonstrate abuse of the grand jury process, continued bad-faith attacks on the journalists, violations of the department’s own internal regulations, and disregard for the law in this Circuit intended to protect critical First Amendment interests.”

The lawyers also said that two of the subpoenas sought records from Jan. 1, long before the publication of the articles that led to the government’s actions.

“That timeframe strongly suggests that the department is using this investigation not to focus on any purported concerns arising from the July 8 and 9 articles, but instead to forage for information about the journalists’ source relationships more broadly,” they said.

The DOJ has said the grand jury subpoenas were intended to target “those leaking classified information” to the publication and not the reporters.

President Donald Trump speaks in front of the new Air Force One, gifted to him by Qatar, in a hangar at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on June 19, 2026. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The department said in a statement to multiple news outlets on July 20 that any subpoena issued “is done so in full compliance with federal law and internal department policy.”

The phone record subpoenas were in addition to subpoenas issued on July 10 requiring the reporters to appear before a grand jury, which the NY Times sought to quash in a July 19 motion.

Jacki Thrapp and The Associated Press contributed to this report.