NEW YORK—The New York Times reported today that the Justice Department sought the phone and text-message records of several Times journalists, two reporters’ spouses, and one reporter’s mother in an effort to identify confidential sources behind the newspaper’s reporting on security concerns involving President Trump’s new Air Force One jet. The Times has asked a federal judge to quash the subpoenas.

The following can be attributed to Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University:

“This is an extraordinary escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign to intimidate the press. The Justice Department didn't stop at journalists—it went after their family members, too. That sends an unmistakably chilling message to anyone thinking about reporting on this administration. Every American who values a free and independent press should see this for what it is: an abuse of power designed to silence scrutiny.”

For more information, contact: Gabriel Tyler, [email protected].