Stop the DOJ from Bullying Journalists and Hiding Problems

As your constituent, I am writing to demand immediate congressional action to protect the First Amendment following a deeply alarming escalation against independent journalism this week. The New York Times reported that President Trump used an older Air Force One because the Secret Service had security concerns about his new, Qatari-gifted jet. Specifically, the aircraft—retrofitted with $400 million in taxpayer funds—reportedly lacks critical antimissile countermeasures. This is a matter of direct public interest: the president is flying in a volatile region on a foreign-gifted plane that may not be able to protect him. Instead of addressing this vulnerability, the administration targeted the messengers. Before publication, a senior FBI official pressured the Times to spike the story and name its sources. When the Times refused and published, the DOJ issued grand jury subpoenas to four journalists—Julian Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt—delivered by federal agents to their private homes on a Friday night with less than a week’s notice. This sequence is a textbook abuse of power. Using the Department of Justice to hide a potential security and financial scandal is a weaponization of law enforcement. It violates decades of internal DOJ guidelines established since the Nixon era to protect press independence, serving as a coordinated campaign to intimidate sources and criminalize routine investigative journalism. When the government uses law enforcement to punish reporters, it is protecting itself from accountability, not protecting national security. I urge you to use your oversight authority to act on three fronts: 1. Investigate the DOJ Subpoenas: Demand a full accounting of whether internal guidelines were violated. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche must answer under oath—both during his confirmation hearings and in immediate written oversight—whether he authorized these subpoenas and the pre-publication FBI harassment. 2. Pass the PRESS Act: Codify federal reporter shield protections into law. This exact legislation passed the House unanimously (422–0) in 2024, proving that overwhelming, bipartisan support exists to protect the First Amendment. 3. Investigate the Aircraft's Safety Deficiencies: Congress has an independent obligation to investigate why a $400 million taxpayer-funded presidential aircraft potentially lacks standard antimissile capabilities while operating in active conflict zones. A president who responds to security gaps by sending the FBI to reporters' doorsteps is protecting his image, not the Constitution. Protecting the free press is not a partisan issue; it is a constitutional duty. I expect you to act.