President Trump successfully makes first official flight on modified Air Force One
President Donald Trump made his first official visit aboard the new Air Force One gifted by Qatar and toured the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
President Donald Trump’s administration has stepped up efforts to curb information leaks to journalists.
Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on X-Video on July 13 that the Department of the Army (officially known as the Department of Defense) and the Department of Justice have established a joint task force to “identify and prosecute leakers.”
“Our security is not a bargaining chip for those looking for instant headlines.”
However, part of the measures to combat information leaks includes issuing subpoenas to journalists, raising concerns about the First Amendment among press freedom advocates.
More recently, the government’s efforts to crack down on information leaks included subpoenaing several New York Times reporters on July 10, according to the paper. Before that, the Justice Department issued subpoenas to reporters from the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, but later withdrew them, The Washington Post reported in June.
Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, issued the latest subpoenas on July 15 for journalists to testify before a federal grand jury. They coerced testimony “with regard to alleged violations of federal criminal law,” although there were “few specifics,” the New York Times reported.
The newspaper said the subpoena followed its reporting on security concerns related to President Trump’s new Air Force One gift from Qatar. The Federal Bureau of Investigation asked The New York Times to withhold the article, citing national security concerns, before publication, the paper said.
President Trump nominated Creighton to be the next Director of National Intelligence in June. Clayton’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for July 15.
Previous presidential administrations have issued subpoenas to journalists, but experts and media activists say the Trump administration’s approach to curbing leaks is an escalation that could violate the First Amendment.
“They’re using these kinds of tools as a first resort, not a last resort,” said Gabe Lotman, vice president for policy at the Reporters Committee for a Free Press.
Neither the Justice Department nor the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York responded to USA TODAY’s requests for comment.
Here’s what you need to know about subpoenas and First Amendment applications.
What was the reaction to the new subpoena?
Clay Calvert, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said in an interview with USA TODAY that the subpoenas, which he called the Trump administration’s “war on press freedom in America,” are “not surprising.”
Groups such as the National Press Club, the International Press Association, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and press freedom advocates, including the New York Times itself, expressed similar sentiments in their respective statements on the issue.
“This brazen act is nothing more than an attempt to intimidate journalists from doing their jobs and to keep the public from knowing what’s going on in their own countries,” said David McCraw, a lawyer for The New York Times.
What is the administration saying?
Justice Department spokeswoman Emily Covington told the New York Times: “The reporters are not the targets. The people who leak classified information are the targets.”
“While we value and value the important role that news organizations play in this country, the Department of Justice also plays an important role in ensuring that those entrusted with state secrets do what they do with that information,” the news organization said.
The Trump administration has increasingly called for investigations and penalties for leaks.
In April 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a policy established under former President Joe Biden’s administration that strengthened protections for journalists from government investigations.
In January, the FBI raided the home of a Washington Post reporter as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally storing classified documents.
And in May, the government proposed introducing a government-wide confidentiality agreement that could result in civil and criminal penalties for violators. The proposal cites multiple leaks, including one related to the U.S. raid on Venezuela in January and the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement operations.
How are the Trump administration’s subpoenas different from past administrations?
First Amendment experts and press freedom advocates have drawn a distinction between subpoenas under the previous administration and subpoenas under the Trump administration. They argued that subpoenas targeting journalists should be a rare means of obtaining critical or potentially life-saving information when no other options exist.
Amanda Martin, a law professor and lead attorney at Duke University Law School’s First Amendment Clinic, acknowledged that there are scant details publicly available about the New York Times subpoena, but said the subpoena “certainly appears to be politically motivated” and that it “never” should be.
“I think the number, if any, would be very small,” she says.
What impact does this have on the general public?
Experts said the Trump administration’s subpoenas and other actions against journalists could indirectly impact the public by making sources more reluctant to disclose information to the press.
“If the news media can’t collect information about the government, the public won’t have access to the information they need to hold their government accountable at the polls,” Rotman said.
Are there efforts to limit government intervention?
Apart from attempts to block the Trump administration’s efforts through the legal system, news organizations have supported legislation aimed at protecting journalists from government interference.
A variety of organizations and media companies are asking Congress to pass the Protecting Reporters from Predatory State Espionage (PRESS) Act. The bill, passed by the House of Representatives in 2024 but stalled in the Senate, was intended to protect journalists and their sources from government investigations.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont) introduced the Privacy Protection Update Act in their respective chambers in March. Mr. Wyden’s office said the bill would close a “loophole” in the 1980 Privacy Act that Mr. Wyden said had been “abused by multiple presidential administrations,” including in the FBI investigation in January.
Breanna Frank is USA TODAY’s First Amendment reporter. please contact her bjfrank@usatoday.com.
USA TODAY’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded by the Freedom Forum in collaboration with our journalism funding partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
