DOJ subpoenas 4 Times reporters over Air Force One leak stories
Why it matters: The move breaks with long-standing limits on forcing journalists to aid leak investigations.
The Justice Department has subpoenaed four New York Times reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week over their reporting on security concerns involving the new Air Force One aircraft. The Times said federal agents delivered some of the subpoenas to journalists' homes. The reporters identified were Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt. The department said the reporters are not targets and that the investigation is focused on officials who may have leaked classified information. Press freedom advocates and the Times condemned the step as an escalation that departs from long-standing Justice Department practice of seeking reporters' records or testimony only as a last resort.