New York Times reporters are subpoenaed after Air Force One stories, raising press freedom concerns
AP: The Department of Justice has subpoenaed New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One, marking a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump ’s campaign against the media that has drawn condemnation for eroding a fundamental freedom of American democracy.
The new jet, a present from the U.S. ally that the administration spent $400 million on to retrofit and upgrade, entered service last week. But Trump used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey and later referenced threats against him made by Iran.
The subpoenas seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week, the Times said, adding that federal agents delivered some subpoenas to the reporters at their homes. They were issued after FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department officials met at the White House on Friday to talk about the matter, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
It also said that before its first story was published, a senior official at the FBI contacted a reporter and editor to ask that the article be held, citing national security issues. The newspaper said that the FBI official declined to explain the security issue but asked The Times to disclose its sources for the story, which the Times said it refused to do.
“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” David McCraw, a lawyer for the Times, said in a statement. -- nordy
Breaking News! “Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina, died on Saturday after a "brief and sudden" illness, his office said in a statement. He was 71.”
The Governor of South Carolina may appoint any qualified individual to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat. Unlike some other states, South Carolina law does not require the appointee to be of the same political party as the previous Senator, nor does it require the Governor to choose from a list of recommendations provided by a political party. The only legal requirement is that the appointee must meet the constitutional qualifications to serve as a U.S. Senator: they must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and an inhabitant of South Carolina at the time of their election or appointment. The appointed Senator serves until the next scheduled general election (or the second succeeding one if the vacancy occurs less than 100 days before an election), at which point a special election is held to fill the remainder of the term.
He must have entered politics very young. It seems like he's been around forever. I remember my mother talking about him many years ago, noting that he was a former JAG officer, though I don't remember which service, and he could be quite amusing. I never saw the appeal, myself.
As annoying and, to my thinking quite mad as he was by the end, his death comes as a shock. For his sake, I'm glad he went quickly. I wouldn't wish lingering on anybody.
There is an old saying that we’re not supposed to speak ill of the dead. I’ve never believed death is some sort of celestial pardon. It doesn’t erase a lifetime of decisions. It doesn’t absolve betrayal. If we celebrate people after they’re gone because they spent their lives lifting humanity, then we owe history the same honesty when someone spent their public life diminishing it. Death deserves dignity. Legacies deserve scrutiny.
Lindsey Graham died suddenly after suffering an apparent cardiac emergency at his Capitol Hill home. Emergency responders attempted to revive him before transporting him to George Washington University Hospital, where he later died. His office described it simply as a brief and sudden illness. That is where the medical story ends. The political story ended years ago.
For me, Lindsey Graham didn’t die on a Saturday night in Washington. The Lindsey Graham I once respected disappeared the day he surrendered his conscience to Donald Trump.
I remember the senator who stood beside John McCain and spoke of honor, alliances, constitutional responsibility, and moral leadership. We often disagreed politically, but I never questioned that he believed what he was saying. Somewhere along the way that man vanished. In his place emerged someone willing to explain away almost anything if it meant remaining close to power. I didn’t watch a politician evolve. I watched a man slowly negotiate away pieces of his character until there was almost nothing recognizable left.
That is the tragedy I see. Not simply that Lindsey Graham died, but that he had already abandoned the very qualities that once made him worthy of respect. He traded independence for obedience, integrity for influence, and conviction for proximity to a president he himself once warned Americans about. When I think about Lindsey Graham’s legacy, I don’t think of the man who served beside John McCain. I think of the man who chose to spend the final chapter of his career defending nearly every excess, every assault on democratic norms, every attack on truth, and every excuse offered on behalf of Donald Trump.
I have never believed democracy dies only because of men like Trump. Democracy dies because intelligent people who know better decide that preserving their own political future matters more than preserving the institutions they swore to defend. Trump didn’t create this movement alone. He required willing participants. Lindsey Graham became one of the most indispensable among them.
His transformation always struck me as one of the great political collapses of our time. This wasn’t someone who lacked the ability to distinguish right from wrong. It was someone who understood the difference perfectly and chose expediency anyway. That is why I find it difficult to summon much sympathy for his political legacy. I don’t celebrate his death. I mourn what he willingly became.
History, I believe, will remember Lindsey Graham less for the legislation he sponsored than for the example he set. Future generations will study these years and ask how so many elected officials could watch constitutional guardrails buckle without intervening. His name will almost certainly appear somewhere in that answer. Not because he was powerless, but because he possessed influence and repeatedly chose to spend it protecting power instead of principle.
The betrayal wasn’t of Democrats. It wasn’t even of Republicans. It was a betrayal of the American people. Every oath of office carries an implied promise that the Constitution comes before any individual. Lindsey Graham had countless opportunities to honor that promise. Again and again, he chose otherwise.
Some men leave behind monuments.
Some leave behind cautionary tales.
I believe Lindsey Graham leaves behind the latter.
Michael Jochum Not Just a Drummer: Reflections on Art, Music, Politics, Dogs, and the Human Condition
So, apparently there's a proof of life photo and article about Mitch McConnell? I think I'll have to wait and see if this turns out to be real. I'm not fully versed in what AI can and can't do.
Yes, I saw that. It did look convincing. I guess that means no special election or appointment for Kansas. Just one more Republican who isn't there to vote.
New York Times reporters are subpoenaed after Air Force One stories, raising press freedom concerns
ReplyDeleteAP: The Department of Justice has subpoenaed New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One, marking a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump ’s campaign against the media that has drawn condemnation for eroding a fundamental freedom of American democracy.
The new jet, a present from the U.S. ally that the administration spent $400 million on to retrofit and upgrade, entered service last week. But Trump used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey and later referenced threats against him made by Iran.
The subpoenas seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week, the Times said, adding that federal agents delivered some subpoenas to the reporters at their homes.
They were issued after FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department officials met at the White House on Friday to talk about the matter, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
It also said that before its first story was published, a senior official at the FBI contacted a reporter and editor to ask that the article be held, citing national security issues. The newspaper said that the FBI official declined to explain the security issue but asked The Times to disclose its sources for the story, which the Times said it refused to do.
“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” David McCraw, a lawyer for the Times, said in a statement. -- nordy
Heather Cox Richardson wrote about this in her evening Daily Letter!
DeleteBreaking News!
ReplyDelete“Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina, died on Saturday after a "brief and sudden" illness, his office said in a statement. He was 71.”
The Governor of South Carolina may appoint any qualified individual to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat. Unlike some other states, South Carolina law does not require the appointee to be of the same political party as the previous Senator, nor does it require the Governor to choose from a list of recommendations provided by a political party.
DeleteThe only legal requirement is that the appointee must meet the constitutional qualifications to serve as a U.S. Senator: they must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and an inhabitant of South Carolina at the time of their election or appointment. The appointed Senator serves until the next scheduled general election (or the second succeeding one if the vacancy occurs less than 100 days before an election), at which point a special election is held to fill the remainder of the term.
SC Gov. Henry McMaster is term limited and will leave office after the 2026 election. He is a big Trump supporter.
DeleteBTW, Lindsey Graham only turned 71 on Thursday.
He must have entered politics very young. It seems like he's been around forever. I remember my mother talking about him many years ago, noting that he was a former JAG officer, though I don't remember which service, and he could be quite amusing. I never saw the appeal, myself.
DeleteAs annoying and, to my thinking quite mad as he was by the end, his death comes as a shock. For his sake, I'm glad he went quickly. I wouldn't wish lingering on anybody.
The Great Betrayal
ReplyDeleteThere is an old saying that we’re not supposed to speak ill of the dead. I’ve never believed death is some sort of celestial pardon. It doesn’t erase a lifetime of decisions. It doesn’t absolve betrayal. If we celebrate people after they’re gone because they spent their lives lifting humanity, then we owe history the same honesty when someone spent their public life diminishing it. Death deserves dignity. Legacies deserve scrutiny.
Lindsey Graham died suddenly after suffering an apparent cardiac emergency at his Capitol Hill home. Emergency responders attempted to revive him before transporting him to George Washington University Hospital, where he later died. His office described it simply as a brief and sudden illness. That is where the medical story ends. The political story ended years ago.
For me, Lindsey Graham didn’t die on a Saturday night in Washington. The Lindsey Graham I once respected disappeared the day he surrendered his conscience to Donald Trump.
I remember the senator who stood beside John McCain and spoke of honor, alliances, constitutional responsibility, and moral leadership. We often disagreed politically, but I never questioned that he believed what he was saying. Somewhere along the way that man vanished. In his place emerged someone willing to explain away almost anything if it meant remaining close to power. I didn’t watch a politician evolve. I watched a man slowly negotiate away pieces of his character until there was almost nothing recognizable left.
That is the tragedy I see. Not simply that Lindsey Graham died, but that he had already abandoned the very qualities that once made him worthy of respect. He traded independence for obedience, integrity for influence, and conviction for proximity to a president he himself once warned Americans about. When I think about Lindsey Graham’s legacy, I don’t think of the man who served beside John McCain. I think of the man who chose to spend the final chapter of his career defending nearly every excess, every assault on democratic norms, every attack on truth, and every excuse offered on behalf of Donald Trump.
I have never believed democracy dies only because of men like Trump. Democracy dies because intelligent people who know better decide that preserving their own political future matters more than preserving the institutions they swore to defend. Trump didn’t create this movement alone. He required willing participants. Lindsey Graham became one of the most indispensable among them.
His transformation always struck me as one of the great political collapses of our time. This wasn’t someone who lacked the ability to distinguish right from wrong. It was someone who understood the difference perfectly and chose expediency anyway. That is why I find it difficult to summon much sympathy for his political legacy. I don’t celebrate his death. I mourn what he willingly became.
History, I believe, will remember Lindsey Graham less for the legislation he sponsored than for the example he set. Future generations will study these years and ask how so many elected officials could watch constitutional guardrails buckle without intervening. His name will almost certainly appear somewhere in that answer. Not because he was powerless, but because he possessed influence and repeatedly chose to spend it protecting power instead of principle.
The betrayal wasn’t of Democrats. It wasn’t even of Republicans. It was a betrayal of the American people. Every oath of office carries an implied promise that the Constitution comes before any individual. Lindsey Graham had countless opportunities to honor that promise. Again and again, he chose otherwise.
Some men leave behind monuments.
Some leave behind cautionary tales.
I believe Lindsey Graham leaves behind the latter.
Michael Jochum
Not Just a Drummer: Reflections on Art, Music, Politics, Dogs, and the Human Condition
Well said.
DeleteThe same guy also wrote:
Delete"You should never say bad things about the dead, only good?
OK, Lindsey Graham is dead. Good."
(I think that one's expressly for you, Susan.)
So, apparently there's a proof of life photo and article about Mitch McConnell? I think I'll have to wait and see if this turns out to be real. I'm not fully versed in what AI can and can't do.
ReplyDeleteYes, I saw that. It did look convincing. I guess that means no special election or appointment for Kansas.
DeleteJust one more Republican who isn't there to vote.
Wil and I are updating our Covid shots on Monday.
ReplyDelete