DOJ Withdraws 2 NYT Reporter Subpoenas After Judge Questions Leak Probe

Q: What critical Air Force One security flaws were leaked that drove investigators to bypass standard press protection rules?

The leaked issue was that the newer, Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 being used as Air Force One reportedly lacked some of the defensive protections carried by the older presidential aircraft, especially advanced antimissile and other countermeasure systems. According to the reporting at the center of the subpoenas, Secret Service officials advised President Donald Trump to switch to the older Air Force One after the NATO summit in Turkey because of security concerns. The concern was not described as a specific imminent threat tied to one event, but rather that the newer plane did not yet appear to have the same level of hardened presidential-security capabilities as the legacy aircraft. Those capabilities reportedly included defensive countermeasures, antimissile protections, and other classified or sensitive security features normally expected on Air Force One. Additional reporting said the aircraft’s retrofit had been done on an accelerated timeline, raising questions about whether all standard presidential communications and defense systems had been fully matched to the older fleet. That was the substance of the leak investigators were pursuing. Public reporting does not show that prosecutors identified any other separate flaw beyond the broader allegation that the newer plane was less fully equipped for presidential defense than the older Air Force One.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 24

Manhattan federal prosecutors withdrew subpoenas to two New York Times reporters after Judge Arun Subramanian spent about an hour pressing them on why the orders were issued so quickly.
Two days after a story on Air Force One security concerns was published, prosecutors had subpoenaed the reporters—typically a last resort in leak cases—prompting the judge to suggest the government had inverted its own legal process.
Sean Buckley, a top prosecutor, did not give the judge an immediate explanation, and the withdrawal signaled the court was poised to find the subpoenas unlawful.
The retreat undercut sworn claims by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton that Justice Department rules protecting press freedom had been followed, sharpening scrutiny of the administration's broader media crackdown.