The Wall Street Journal received grand jury subpoenas for reporters’ records as part of a Justice Department leak investigation, as the outlet said that they would oppose the effort.
The Journal reported on Monday evening that the subpoenas, dated on March 4, came after President Donald Trump complained about leaks tied to the war in Iran. The subpoenas were tied to a Feb. 23 article that reported on the concerns that General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and others had about the risks of the Iran war.
A spokesperson for Dow Jones, the publisher of The Journal, said in a statement, “The government’s subpoenas to The Wall Street Journal and our reporters represent an attack on constitutionally protected newsgathering. We will vigorously oppose this effort to stifle and intimidate essential reporting.”
Since Trump took office for a second term, the DOJ has ended Biden-era restrictions on the department’s efforts to obtain information from journalists. In January, the home of a reporter for The Washington Post, Hannah Natanson, was searched and her phones were seized as part of an investigation into a government contractor’s retention of classified information.
The Journal reported that Trump complained to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about the leaks. Last month, the president threatened an unnamed media outlet that reported on a downed military airman in Iran. He said that they would find the leaker and “whoever it was, we think we’ll be able to find it out, because we’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re gonna say ‘national security. Give it up or go to jail.’” The status of that leak investigation has not been made public.
The Justice Department did not immediately return a request for comment. But a spokesperson told the Journal, “In all circumstances, the Department of Justice follows the facts and applies the law to identify those committing crimes against the United States.”
More to come.
