DOJ withdraws subpoenas to NY Times reporters in Trump plane probe

The Department of Justice is withdrawing subpoenas it obtained for New York Times reporters involved in an article about President Donald Trump's new Air Force One jet, prosecutors told a federal judge in New York on Thursday. The move came at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where Judge Arun Subramanian was considering a motion by the Times to quash the subpoenas targeting its journalists. The Times has reported that the DOJ late last week informed the newspaper that "it had issued subpoenas to third-party phone service providers seeking several journalists' phone and text messaging records." On Monday, the paper reported The DOJ also earlier had issued subpoenas on July 10 seeking to compel Times reporters to testify before a federal grand jury, the newspaper has reported. Several of the subpoenas were delivered by federal agents to reporters' homes. The probe came after the Times reported security concerns about Trump's new Air Force One, which was donated by the nation of Qatar. "The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects," said David McCraw, The Times' lawyer, in a statement on July 11. "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," McCaw said. "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." This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.