President Trump defended the DOJ's issuance of subpoenas to New York Times reporters during an investigation into leaks regarding the security of the president's new Air Force One plane. The DOJ had previously announced it would withdraw these subpoenas after a federal judge indicated he would quash them if not voluntarily retracted.
Trump's remarks emphasized that the administration is targeting leakers rather than journalists, stating, 'We're after leakers. We're after people that are cowards, people that are unpatriotic.' Concurrently, Google revealed it had received a subpoena for subscriber information related to a phone number in the same investigation, which it argued violated First Amendment rights.
The court subsequently vacated a non-disclosure order that prevented Google from informing the affected subscriber about the subpoena. This incident underscores the delicate balance between national security interests and press freedoms, potentially affecting how media companies operate in relation to government inquiries