White House Sought Journalists' Relatives' Phone Records

The Trump administration pursued phone records belonging to several New York Times journalists and their relatives as part of an effort to identify confidential sources who reported on the former president's Air Force One jet, which was a gift from Qatar. This action, detailed in a motion unsealed on Monday, represents a significant escalation in the executive branch's attempts to uncover journalistic sources during a period of heightened tension with the press.

The New York Times revealed in a letter-motion filed over the weekend that these efforts were more extensive than previously understood and encompassed a broader timeframe than the specific news articles in question. Lawyers for the Times stated in their filing that "Two of the subpoenas seek records beginning on January 1, 2026, long before the events that are purportedly the basis for the Department’s investigation." They further argued that this extended timeframe "strongly suggests that the Department is using this investigation not to focus on any purported concerns arising from the July 8 and 9 articles, but instead to forage for information about the Journalists’ source relationships more broadly."

These phone record subpoenas are in addition to grand jury subpoenas that were served on three journalists on July 10, demanding testimony about the identities of their sources. The New York Times has independently contested these grand jury subpoenas, with U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian scheduled to hear arguments on Thursday. Judge Subramanian has also placed a hold on the enforcement of the phone record subpoenas until a decision is made on the newspaper's motion to quash them.

Legal representatives for The Times highlighted that some of the phone record subpoenas were issued on the same day as the grand jury subpoenas. Further subpoenas were issued on July 14 and July 16, notably after The Times had already initiated proceedings to quash the grand jury subpoenas. The government has maintained that the reporters themselves are not the target of these investigations.