LATEST: The US Government calls journalists from ‘The New York Times’ to testify | International
Latest Developments:
The following report highlights an important international development currently attracting worldwide attention.
The Donald Trump Administration has called four journalists from The New York Times to testify after it published information that revealed security concerns regarding the new presidential plane Air Force One, a gift from Qatar, as reported by the media outlet itself. The reporters received an order on Friday from the Department of Justice to appear before a grand jury in Manhattan next Wednesday. In some cases, federal agents appeared directly at the homes of the affected journalists – Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt, Tyler Pager and Eric Lipton – to serve them with the judicial subpoena, notes the newspaper, which considers the episode a new demonstration of the Trump Administration’s desire to “threaten and intimidate” independent media. “The appearance of federal law enforcement agents in the doors of journalists’ homes should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the freedom of the press that it protects,” said the media’s lawyer, David McCraw, in a statement. In turn, the Department of Justice indicated that the subpoenas are related to an investigation into “violations of national security.” “Journalists are not the objectives (of this investigation); those who are leaking that information are,” the organization said in a statement. “We are not going to ignore the law or stop investigating people who work for the State and believe that it is okay to leak classified information that affects national security,” he added. Qatar gifted Trump the plane, valued at about $400 million, last year. The Pentagon took charge of the gift – which according to the White House does not violate the laws that prohibit senior officials and federal officials from accepting valuable objects offered by foreign governments – to adapt the Boeing to the strict security requirements of a presidential means of transportation and to verify that no avenues of possible espionage had been introduced into it. After presenting it to the press at an event at Andrews Air Base, on the outskirts of Washington, Trump debuted it on the 1st, on a trip to North Dakota. This week the president flew in it to Ankara, the Turkish capital, to participate in the NATO summit. But he returned to Washington on the old Air Force One, sparking speculation about the reasons that had led to that decision. The return to the old model, on Wednesday, occurred at a time of great tension between the United States and Iran, which exchanged fire while Trump proclaimed “over” the truce that both countries had agreed to while negotiating a definitive agreement to end the war. Iran borders Turkey. The Times then published, citing anonymous sources, that the new Air Force One is not equipped with anti-missile devices or other protective capabilities, as previous models are. According to the newspaper, the return on the old presidential plane was made at the request of the Secret Service, the body in charge of presidential protection. Asked by the journalists who accompanied him on that flight, Trump denied that the change was due to security reasons, and declared that it had been decided to leave the new plane at a US military base in the United Kingdom as a gift for the soldiers stationed there, so that they could admire it. The president also did not want to answer whether Iran had made any credible threat against the presidential aircraft. “I am constantly threatened,” he said. “I’m the first on your list [de Irán]”The White House has also denied that there are security problems on the newly released plane. “It is equipped with high-level security protocols that guarantee the safety of the president and his staff,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement. Before the publication of the article on Wednesday, a senior FBI official had contacted a journalist and an official at the newspaper to request that the story not be published, citing the protection of national security. The senior official also asked the newspaper to reveal his sources, something the Times refused to do. Other investigations Throughout his second term, Trump has repeatedly used his government’s power to harass the press. Earlier this year, the Justice Department tried to force journalists from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post to testify, although it ended up withdrawing the subpoenas after both outlets filed secret allegations. In January, FBI agents searched the home of a Post journalist, Hannah Natanson, and seized them. phones, computers and a smart watch as part of an investigation into a contractor’s handling of classified information. Natanson had spent months talking to federal employees to cover the Trump Administration’s actions to reduce the public workforce. In a statement, the Freedom of the Press Foundation has condemned the subpoena of The New York Times journalists. Possible safety problems with the new plane “do not take precedence over the need for a free and independent press,” the institution added.
International Perspective:
Experts suggest the long-term impact of these developments may become clearer as more information emerges.
Political and economic analysts are paying close attention to the potential consequences of these events.
More details may emerge as official sources continue releasing new information.
Source: This article was originally published by Internacional en EL PAÍS and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.