A federal judge in New York sharply rebuked Justice Department prosecutors during a Thursday hearing after the DOJ was forced to withdraw grand jury subpoenas issued to New York Times reporters and their family members in a leak investigation tied to President Donald Trump.

The case stems from Trump's push to identify the source behind a New York Times report revealing that a Qatari-gifted plane intended for presidential use had not been fully retrofitted with the necessary security and communications systems. According to MSNBC reporter Carol Leonnig, Trump was "embarrassed" by the ordeal, which forced him to use an older Air Force One aircraft for travel from Turkey to the United Kingdom following the NATO summit. At a press conference, Trump told reporters he was allowing U.S. soldiers stationed at international bases to view the plane.

Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and FBI Director Kash Patel subsequently launched an internal investigation to find the leaker. The probe expanded aggressively: not only were reporters subpoenaed by a grand jury, but family members of the journalists were as well. Cabinet officials were also required to surrender their phones to Wiles and Patel for examination.

The New York Times challenged the subpoenas in court. The DOJ had already drawn scrutiny after filing a promise to pause subpoenas for two weeks to demonstrate that prosecutors were taking "particular investigative steps." The dispute put the department's leak-investigation powers up against rules meant to protect newsgathering from compelled disclosure when prosecutors have not first exhausted less intrusive ways to obtain information.

The situation reached a breaking point at Thursday's hearing before Judge Arun Subramanian. Legal reporters Adam Klasfeld and Matthew Russell Lee were present in the courtroom as the judge confronted government attorneys.

Legal analyst Michael Popok, who writes the "Legal AF" Substack, said Judge Subramanian "tore the Department of Justice and the Southern District of New York a new one." According to Popok, the judge was especially severe with a DOJ lawyer from the Southern District of New York whom he summoned from the gallery into the well of the courtroom.

"He brought him into the well of the courtroom and had him explain why he went to a second judge, not named Judge Subramanian, and then had that judge sign for search warrants without telling the judge that there were reporters on the other side," Popok said.

Popok added: "That's a no-no. It's called lying and not being candid with the tribunal. You can lose your Bar license as a result."

The hearing also exposed a potential lapse involving Todd Blanche, Trump's attorney general nominee. Legal analyst Lisa Rubin explained that special rules apply when the DOJ targets the news media, including a requirement to take all reasonable steps to obtain the information through alternative means before issuing subpoenas. Additionally, such subpoenas must be approved at the highest level — which in this instance meant Blanche.

When Judge Subramanian asked Sean Buckley, chief counsel to the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, whether Blanche had signed off on the subpoenas, Buckley confirmed that he had, potentially exposing Blanche to further legal controversy. That exchange focused attention not only on the subpoenas themselves, but also on the internal approval process prosecutors used before seeking records involving journalists and their relatives.

Ultimately, the DOJ agreed to withdraw the subpoenas. Popok explained that the department conceded the subpoenas "violate the law." The judge indicated that the alternative would have been for him to quash them himself, which would have further embarrassed Blanche.

The Associated Press described the proceedings as a "remarkable back and forth between a visibly irritated Judge Arun Subramanian and government attorneys," noting that the confrontation comes at a time when the Trump administration is "vigorously going after news organizations whose reporting and coverage it doesn't like — and also trying to crack down on leaks inside the government."

Source: Legal AF Substack — Michael Popok