U.S. sought Times phone records in Qatari Air Force One inquiry
A court filing says the Trump administration pursued journalists’ and relatives’ phone records while investigating leaks about a Qatari-gifted jet.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
The Trump administration sought phone records for several New York Times journalists and some of their relatives as part of an inquiry tied to reporting on a Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet, according to a motion unsealed Monday. The filing broadens a legal fight over press protections and the Justice Department’s efforts to identify confidential sources.
The Times disclosed the additional subpoenas in a letter-motion filed over the weekend. Its lawyers said the government’s requests went beyond what had been publicly known and covered periods outside the July 8 and 9 articles at issue.
According to the Times lawyers, two subpoenas requested records starting Jan. 1, 2026, before the events the Justice Department has cited as the basis for its investigation. The lawyers argued that timing suggests the department was seeking information about the reporters’ source relationships more broadly rather than limiting the inquiry to the articles.
Subpoenas challenged in court
The phone-records demands followed grand jury subpoenas served July 10 on three Times journalists, according to the filing. Those subpoenas sought testimony about the identity of sources, and the newspaper has separately asked a judge to quash them.
A hearing on the grand jury subpoenas is scheduled for Thursday. Times lawyers said some phone-records subpoenas were issued the same day as the grand jury subpoenas, with others issued the next day and on July 16, after the newspaper had already challenged the testimony demands.
The newspaper asked the court to block the phone-records subpoenas as well. Its lawyers accused the government of bad faith and said the Justice Department failed to follow its own rules by not giving advance notice to the journalists before seeking records.
The filing also says the additional subpoenas sought records for one reporter’s mother and for two journalists’ spouses. Times lawyers said the mother is a mental health professional with confidential client relationships, and one spouse is general counsel at a law firm.
Justice Department defends its conduct
The Justice Department has said in connection with the grand jury subpoenas that reporters are not the targets and that the inquiry is aimed at people who leaked classified information. Asked about the phone-records subpoenas, the department said Monday that any subpoena it issues complies with federal law and internal policy.
Times lawyers said the phone-records demands cast doubt on testimony by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, where the grand jury subpoenas were issued. At his confirmation hearing to become the Trump administration’s director of national intelligence, Clayton said the government followed protocols and used the least intrusive steps possible.
The dispute stems from Times reporting, based on anonymous sources, about security concerns involving the new presidential aircraft. The jet was a gift from Qatar, and the Trump administration spent $400 million to retrofit and upgrade it, according to the account in the filing.
The Times reported that Trump used an older Air Force One aircraft after a NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month because the Secret Service urged the switch. The newspaper also reported that the newer aircraft lacked some security features found on the older plane, including antimissile capabilities; Trump denied security concerns on social media.
The legal fight follows other clashes between the Trump administration and news organizations since he returned to office last year. Those conflicts have included lawsuits, administrative actions, public threats and, earlier this year, an FBI search of a Washington Post reporter’s home and seizure of her electronic devices.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.