1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

The Justice Department just hand-delivered subpoenas to the homes of four New York Times journalists on a Friday night, ordering them before a Manhattan grand jury. Their crime? Reporting that the $400 million Qatari jet Trump accepted lacks the anti-missile systems of the original Air Force One — a story so credible that the Secret Service refused to let Trump fly home on it from Turkey, days after U.S. strikes on Iran. Speak out against this abuse of prosecutorial power and demand these subpoenas be withdrawn immediately. This isn't an isolated incident. Attorney General Pam Bondi dismantled DOJ press protection guidelines in April 2025. The U.S. Attorney issuing these subpoenas, Jay Clayton, is simultaneously Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence. ABC paid $15 million to settle a Trump defamation suit. Paramount paid $16 million over a 60 Minutes edit while seeking merger approval. The AP was banned from the Oval Office for refusing to call it the Gulf of America. The pattern is clear: this administration is systematically using legal and regulatory leverage to silence unfavorable coverage. The Times' top lawyer called the agents-at-doors approach something that "should shock the conscience." It should shock yours too. A free press isn't a partisan issue — it's the mechanism by which the public holds power accountable. Use your platform and your vote to push back on this before the precedent becomes permanent.