Contact: Jen Sheehan, jen@nyguild.org, 610-573-0740
The NewsGuild-CWA strongly condemns recent Justice Department subpoenas demanding journalists at The New York Times testify about their reporting on security concerns surrounding Air Force One.
The federal government subpoenaed journalists, who are also Guild members, after they reported that the plane the president accepted as a gift from Qatar lacked advanced security features found in the traditional Air Force One and that the Secret Service had urged the president to fly home in the older model.
The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that the federal government cannot restrain or control the reporting on matters in the public interest, which is protected under the First Amendment.
“It’s our job as journalists to seek truth, ask questions, and ethically report our findings,” said Jim Luttrell, unit chair for the Times Guild and senior staff editor for The New York Times. “Our members adhere to this journalistic mission every day and we won’t be cowed by efforts to limit our reporting through legal and political threats or by attempts at intimidation.”
“We support our members to the fullest in the fight to protect the integrity of their reporting and their ability to do their jobs,” said Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York, which represents journalists in the Times Guild. “A free and independent press is essential to the functioning of a democratic society. Representing the only industry specifically named in the Constitution, it is our job as the union of journalists and media workers to protect our members’ ability to shine a light in the dark corners of our democracy and to serve as a necessary check on government power.”
“Journalism is not a crime,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. “We stand with our members who bring the world the truth every single day. These latest subpoenas follow a disturbing number of attacks against journalists and news organizations in an effort to avoid accountability and reduce transparency. The Trump administration’s actions are un-American.”
The latest subpoenas by the Trump administration follow an extraordinary use of federal powers in his efforts to attack America’s free press.
In January, FBI agents raided the home of Hannah Natanson, a Guild member and Washington Post reporter covering the federal workforce.
The president has sued several news organizations including The Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Des Moines Register, CNN, the BBC and others. The Federal Communications Commission under Trump has launched probes and intimidated local broadcasters and national programs in an attempt to affect reporting.
The NewsGuild-CWA has joined three lawsuits against the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland security after federal agents assaulted working journalists and Guild members in Minnesota, Southern California and Chicago. The lawsuits in Minnesota and Southern California remain active.
On Friday a federal court issued an injunction ordering the Department of Homeland Security to stop using force to prevent journalists and members of the public from documenting immigration enforcement operations in the Central District of California.