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The media analyst also described the step as “highly unusual” and “very aggressive”.
The friction between political power and independent journalism in the US hit a fresh flashpoint last week as the Trump administration decided to subpoena a number of New York Times journalists.
The reason appeared to be that their recent report exposed a bizarre mid-trip aircraft swap involving Air Force One. Specifically, the journalists revealed that President Donald Trump flew to the NATO summit in the new Air Force One, but that he left the summit on an older Air Force One citing security reasons.
The day after the story broke, NYT reported that the lack of antimissile capabilities on the new Air Force One had concerned security officials.
According to The Guardian, the US Justice Department said in a statement that the actual targets of the legal action are those leaking classified information, not the journalists reporting it.
Hunting for sources
Speaking on CNN Newsroom on Sunday, media analyst Brian Stelter warned that the administration is escalating its tactics.
The federal subpoenas aim to unmask internal government whistleblowers. During an interview with anchor Omar Jimenez, Stelter described the high stakes.
“That is a highly unusual, very aggressive, and very troubling step forward, or a reassertion of the government’s powers here because ultimately, a subpoena to a journalist is an attempt to compel them to testify, to reveal anonymous sources,” Stelter said.
He added: “And in this particular case, the anonymous sources are officials inside Trump’s government who contradicted him, who said that the security concerns were the reason why the plane was not taken back from Turkey.”
Administration officials claimed that security threats forced the sudden aircraft change. Even so, prosecutors appear far more focused on identifying the source of the leak than explaining the security concerns.
Standing their ground
The New York Times has no intention of backing down. To safeguard its reporting methods, the publication plans to fight the government’s demands in court.
Stelter shared a forceful statement from Executive Editor Joseph Kahn, who accused the Department of Justice of abusing its authority.
“The Trump administration, with its impulsive subpoenas, used vague pretenses of a threat to national security to try to compel our reporters to appear before a grand jury. But the law protects news gatherers from this sort of retaliatory abuse of prosecutorial power. It is essential that the courts reaffirm that protection and quash this overreach, and we are confident that they will do so,” Kahn stated.
While judges have blocked similar executive overreach in the past, this battle is moving quickly. Stelter noted that the real shock is the speed, with prosecutors acting just days after the story broke.
