Wall Street Journal Subpoenaed in Probe of Leaks About Iran Military Plans

The Wall Street Journal received grand jury subpoenas dated March 4 for records of its reporters, the newspaper reported. The subpoenas relate to a February article that reported top Pentagon officials warned Trump about the risks of going to war against Iran in the days before the president launched Operation Epic Fury.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to administration officials familiar with the matter. One official said a sticky note with the word “treason” was placed atop a stack of articles that concerned the administration. A White House official told USA TODAY that administration officials “were rightfully frustrated by illegal leaks of classified information which risked operational security and American lives,” including leaks related to the multiday mission to rescue American airmen whose fighter jet was shot down in Iran in early April.

The Department of Justice did not return USA TODAY’s request for comment. Ashok Sinha, chief communications officer at Dow Jones, said the subpoenas “represent an attack on constitutionally protected newsgathering.

Tim Richardson, PEN America’s journalism and disinformation program director, said confidential sources are “critical” for journalists during wartime and called for an end to the federal government’s investigations of journalists. ” The Freedom of the Press Foundation issued a statement on May 12.

” The Trump administration has previously cited national security concerns in actions that press freedom advocates have characterized as threats to the First Amendment.

The FBI searched Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s Virginia home in January as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified documents. S. ” The newspaper has denied wrongdoing in ongoing litigation.

A second judge ruled in early May that the Trump administration could not review the devices it seized in the search. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, introduced the Privacy Protection Updates Act in March.

The legislation was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. The bill aims to close loopholes in the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 that have been abused by multiple presidential administrations, including in the January raid. The Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act passed in the House in 2024 but stalled in the Senate.