The US Department of Justice on Friday (July 10) issued subpoenas to four journalists with The New York Times over a report flagging security concerns about President Donald Trump’s newly inducted, Qatari-donated Air Force One plane.According to the newspaper, the journalists are being summoned to testify before a federal grand jury in New York on Wednesday (July 15). The NYT denounced the action and called the subpoena “an extraordinary escalation in Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations.”Citing unnamed officials, The NYT reported last week that the new plane lacked several of the defence capabilities found on older Air Force One planes, a question that American lawmakers have repeatedly flagged. While the White House did not address questions about the plane’s capabilities, it defended its security features on July 9. The journalists were subpoenaed a day later.“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” David McCraw, NYT lawyer, said in a statement Friday evening. “This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”What did The NYT report say?While Trump travelled aboard the new plane to the NATO summit in Turkey, he was forced to return to the US aboard the older, baby blue Boeing VC-25A plane, at the Secret Service’s insistence. In a social media post on July 8, the president announced that he would fly aboard the older aircraft “for old time’s sake”.On July 8, The NYT reported that the new plane lacks the defensive countermeasures found in the existing Air Force One fleet, including its advanced anti-missile and secure communications capabilities. That report has become the subject of the leak investigation.The report also flagged the risk the US president had taken in travelling aboard the Qatari-donated jet to the vicinity of an active war zone. Trump travels with a large entourage of White House staff, Secret Service officials, journalists and presidential guests, who all faced the risk.Story continues below this adAlso under scrutiny was the pace at which the donated plane was readied for presidential use. The report cited an official who oversaw the Air Force One programme during the Biden administration as saying a comprehensive retrofit of the 747 to become Air Force One would take more than a year of work. Work on the Qatari jet began in September 2025, while Trump took his inaugural flight this month. SAM 29000, one of two VC-25As used as Air Force One, approaching Dayton International Airport in October 2012. (Wikimedia Commons)Despite its age, the older fleet contains decades of bespoke communications, defensive systems and hardening that cannot simply be installed overnight.The report also said that the FBI had asked the newspaper not to publish aspects of the story on national security grounds, a request the paper declined.Why were the journalists subpoenaed?The Trump administration has emphasised that the investigation concerns the leak of classified information and that it is concerned with plugging the leak.Story continues below this adHowever, the release of The NYT report has proven embarrassing for the US president while he was abroad on official business. This, coupled with the newspaper’s reportage about the new aircraft, has undermined his championing of the new jet.Can journalists be subpoenaed? What makes the present case so unusual?Any newspaper, its journalists or publisher can be subpoenaed in the US. A newspaper can be subpoenaed for documents or business records, while a reporter may be subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury, in civil litigation, or at trial.However, such cases tend to be controversial and demand that they reveal their confidential sources. The real question is whether the subpoena is valid, its purpose and whether any privilege or statutory protection applies.While the First Amendment protects freedom of speech and the press, it does not provide blanket immunity from subpoenas. This was established in Branzburg v Hayes (1972), in which the US Supreme Court held that a reporter does not enjoy any constitutional privilege in withholding confidentially received information from a grand jury.Story continues below this adHowever, several lower courts have since chosen to interpret this ruling narrowly and recognise some form of qualified reporter’s privilege, depending on the relevance of the information, its availability elsewhere and the need for disclosure. The scope of such privilege varies depending on the jurisdiction.This Word Means | Boeing 747Some states have also introduced “shield laws” that recognise a common law reporter’s privilege. The range of protection for confidential sources varies from little to none to absolute protection, depending on the jurisdiction.At the federal level, the Justice Department has typically maintained rigorous internal policies in issuing subpoenas to journalists, often seeking high-level approval and only relying on the measure as necessary. However, these practices are not constitutional rights enforceable by journalists.Another concern is the heavy involvement of the White House in the investigation. Reporter subpoenas are typically issued after exhausting all attempts to identify the source of the leak internally. However, the journalists were subpoenaed within 48 hours of the report’s publication. The investigation has also drawn attention because FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly oversaw parts of it from the White House, an unusual level of White House involvement, The NYT reported on Saturday (July 11).The controversial giftStory continues below this adIn May 2025, Qatar gifted a luxurious Boeing 747-8, worth about $200 million, to the US President, who was then on a four-country tour in West Asia. According to the deal, the plane would be donated to Trump’s presidential library once he leaves office, making it available for his personal use after 2028.At the time, Trump’s acceptance of the plane had triggered questions over the ethics of accepting the “gift”. US lawmakers also expressed concerns about impropriety, wondering whether Qatar was attempting to purchase influence with the US or if the plane itself may be equipped with spying devices.Trump dismissed these concerns, citing the delays in replacing the ageing fleet. He had then described the Qatari-donated jet as a “bridge” plane, until Boeing delivered the much-delayed 747-8s the US had ordered in 2018.The NYT also reported then that the 747 is operationally expensive and was being less preferred as the airline used by heads of state, given its four engines and heavy maintenance costs, especially the cost of procuring replacement parts.Story continues below this adThe US has spent hundreds of millions retrofitting the plane for secure presidential use, with the cost of such work estimated at under $400 million.