Will subpoenas against NYT's journalists over security issues with QatarForceOne be squashed in July?
65% of users predicted NO — the community missed this one. 37 predictions cast.
The Justice Department subpoenaed four New York Times journalists (Eric Lipton, Julian E. Barnes, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt) on July 11, seeking testimony and phone records related to their reporting on security concerns surrounding the Qatar-donated Air Force One replacement aircraft. The Times filed a motion in Manhattan federal court to quash the subpoenas, arguing they violated Justice Department media-subpoena guidelines and the First Amendment.
On July 23, the department withdrew the subpoenas after U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian criticized the government's approach at a hearing, stating he would have granted the motion to quash regardless of the withdrawal and that subpoenas targeting journalists are meant to be a last resort under rules protecting press freedom. A Justice Department attorney acknowledged in court that subpoenas seeking information on the reporters' family members had been issued in error.
The withdrawal resolved the immediate legal dispute before the scheduled grand jury testimony date. The community had priced in only a 35% chance the subpoenas would be quashed by the end of July; the outcome resolved yes.