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The Daily

The President, His Plane and the Press

July 17, 2026 • 29m

Summary

⏱️ 9 min read

Overview

A New York Times investigation into safety concerns surrounding President Trump's new Air Force One leads to an unprecedented response from the Trump administration: FBI agents deliver subpoenas to Times reporters at their homes, demanding they testify before a grand jury. The episode explores the original reporting on security vulnerabilities in the Qatar-donated aircraft, the rushed leak investigation orchestrated from inside the White House, and the broader implications for press freedom.

FBI Agents Show Up at Reporters' Homes

In an extraordinary and highly unusual move, FBI agents appeared at the homes of New York Times reporters on a Friday evening to deliver subpoenas demanding they testify before a grand jury. The subpoenas came as reporters were settling into their weekend routines—having dinner with family, watching TV with their kids, or enjoying drinks with friends. The agents served photocopies of subpoenas related to the Air Force One reporting, marking a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration's response to the story.

  • FBI agents showed up at reporters' homes on Friday night to deliver subpoenas
  • One reporter's son spotted the FBI agents staking out their house from across the street
  • Agents served photocopies of subpoenas, not even official signed documents
  • The subpoenas demanded testimony before a grand jury about the Air Force One story
" I pick it up and it's an FBI agent who identifies himself and says, I'm in front of your house right now. Are you coming home anytime soon? "
" It was a fairly ordinary interaction, except for the fact that this is not something that is supposed to happen with reporters. "

The Air Force One Story That Started It All

Tyler Pager and colleagues were covering President Trump's NATO summit in Turkey when the president made a sudden last-minute change to his travel plans, switching from the new Qatar-donated Air Force One to the old plane for his departure. The change came as Trump was traveling in a region roughly 1,000 miles from Tehran during renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities. Despite the president's public claim that he took the old plane "for old time's sake," reporters learned the Secret Service had urged the switch due to security concerns about the new aircraft's defensive capabilities.

  • Trump debuts new Qatar-donated Air Force One at July 4th celebrations and takes it to Turkey for NATO summit
  • President makes unexpected last-minute switch from new plane to old Air Force One for departure from Turkey
  • Turkey is approximately 1,000 miles from Tehran during resumed U.S.-Iran hostilities
  • Lawmakers and military officials had warned for months that the plane was made available too soon
  • Secret Service grew concerned and urged president to switch planes
" Presidential trips are choreographed to the minute and everything is done far in advance, way before the president even departs the United States. There are advance teams that scout out locations and departures and every piece of the president's trip is highly scheduled. So it's a surprise to see a change made so soon to his departure. "
" If you compare photos of the old Air Force One and the new Air Force One, you can see on the old plane, under its wing, on its tail, aspects of defensive systems that you can't see on the new plane. "

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