Trump admin escalates attacks on journalists, probing family communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: New York, July 20, 2026 — The New York Times reported today that the Trump administration issued third-party subpoenas seeking communications not only of journalists’ phone and text records but those of their relatives, including spouses and parents. The subpoenas were part of the government’s investigation into the source of reporting that President Donald Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One replacement was deemed unsafe to fly him back from the NATO summit in Turkey because, despite hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars spent to retrofit the plane, it still was not up to the standards of the existing Air Force One. Trump appears to have later admitted the plane needed a security boost, telling reporters it is now being “maxed out.” The following can be attribut…