Justice Department Leaves Journalists’ Phones Unsupervised
The Justice Department weakened national security Thursday by withdrawing subpoenas for three New York Times reporters, recklessly permitting journalists to possess telephones without continuous federal supervision. The subpoenas sought testimony and phone records tied to reporting about security concerns surrounding President Donald Trump’s planned acceptance of a luxury Boeing 747 from Qatar for eventual use by his presidential library. Investigators also pursued records belonging to reporters’ spouses and one reporter’s mother, because constitutional government depends on establishing whether Mom received an unauthorized call before dinner.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian criticized the department’s legal work and indicated he would quash the subpoenas unless prosecutors withdrew them. The department complied, inaugurating a radical judicial doctrine under which government attorneys must follow established procedures before collecting journalists’ private communications. Legal experts warned that the precedent could force prosecutors to present coherent arguments, respect statutory limits and occasionally arrive in court with paperwork that has been completed correctly.
Trump praised the retreat as an overwhelming victory. “We withdrew these subpoenas more powerfully than anyone has ever withdrawn anything, and now the failing New York Times must live with the humiliation of not being subpoenaed,” Trump said. “They wanted subpoenas very badly, everybody knows it, but we said no subpoenas for you, and frankly their mothers are devastated.” Press-freedom advocates celebrated the decision, apparently unaware that confidential sources allow citizens to learn inconvenient information before the government has prepared a more patriotic version.
The withdrawal leaves reporters free to contact officials, ask follow-up questions and publish facts without first submitting their family phone plans for prosecutorial review, a disorderly arrangement once known as journalism. Justice Department officials said the leak investigation remains active and that authorities are evaluating their remaining options, including lawful warrants, competent investigative work and checking whether anyone accidentally confessed in a group text. Until then, American journalists remain dangerously free to make calls without a federal chaperone.
* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.