The New York Times has filed a motion to quash subpoenas that the Justice Department served on journalists who reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One, teeing up a significant court fight over press freedom and the government’s ability to force reporters to identify sources. The filing was made under seal Wednesday in the Southern District of New York, where the journalists were summoned in subpoenas delivered last Friday to testify before a federal grand jury. The Times’ senior vice president and deputy general counsel says the subpoenas “violate the constitutional rights of The Times and its journalists.”

Media advocates have reacted with alarm to subpoenas issued to five New York Times journalists who reported on security concerns about the new Air Force One. The move is seen as a dangerous and brazen escalation in President Donald Trump's campaign against media outlets that run content that angers him. The subpoenas demand the reporters testify before a federal grand jury this week. The National Press Club and the Committee to Protect Journalists are among the groups calling the Republican Trump administration's subpoenas an assault on press freedom. The Justice Department says reporters are not the targets — but leakers of classified information are.

The Department of Justice confirms that it's subpoenaed New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One. The subpoenas mark a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump’s campaign against the media that's drawn condemnation for eroding a fundamental freedom of American democracy. The new jet was a present from the U.S. ally and the administration spent $400 million on to retrofit and upgrade. The plane entered service last week. But Trump used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey and later referenced threats against him made by Iran.

A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Department of Justice cannot have access to personal information for every person who worked during the 2020 election in Georgia’s Fulton County. The Justice Department in April served a grand jury subpoena seeking the names and personal contact information of county employees and volunteer poll workers. The county argued the subpoena was overly broad and meant to target and harass President Donald Trump’s opponents. In his ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Ray called the subpoena “unreasonable.”

A federal judge has blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to subpoena Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other state officials, calling it an effort to “harass and retaliate against them.” U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz found in a ruling unsealed Monday that the “dominant purpose” of the subpoenas was to “coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.” The subpoenas were served in January as part of an investigation into whether Walz and other officials obstructed or impeded law enforcement during a sweeping immigration operation in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Walz calls the ruling “a victory for the rule of law and our democracy.”