The newspaper accused the government of ‘escalating attacks on journalists, which should concern all Americans.’
The New York Times said on Saturday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) subpoenaed one of its freelance journalists over his 2025 story of a failed U.S. military operation in North Korea.
The newspaper said freelancer Matthew Cole was subpoenaed in February and the federal government sought to obtain more than two years’ worth of his notes and his testimony over a story he co-wrote about Navy SEALs killing several unarmed North Koreans in early 2019 during their mission to plant a listening device near the country’s borders.
The story cited two dozen unnamed sources.
“We support Matthew Cole’s decision to make public a subpoena that the government has attempted to keep secret,” New York Times spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.
The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Cole’s attorney, David O’Neil, whom The New York Times is paying for, also did not respond to a request for comment.
The Epoch Times could not independently verify details of the subpoena other than what the newspaper’s spokesman said.
“It is part of the government’s escalating attacks on journalists, which should concern all Americans,” Stadtlander said. “Mr. Cole has dedicated his career to investigative journalism in the public interest. The demand that he disclose his sources is another brazen and illegal attack from the administration designed to deny the public information of vital importance.”
Separately, on July 10, the DOJ issued subpoenas to four of the newspaper’s journalists over two reports of alleged security concerns on President Donald Trump’s new Air Force One, which was donated by the Qatari government.
The first article, published on July 8, claimed the U.S. Secret Service had urged Trump to instead board the old Air Force One when he left the NATO summit in Turkey earlier in July. A second article on July 9, citing anonymous sources, alleged the aircraft lacked advanced security features, such as anti-missile capabilities.
As part of the DOJ’s subpoenas, the agency sought phone records of the journalists and some of their family members in order to identify the confidential sources behind the articles.
The DOJ had reiterated the subpoenas were meant to root out “those leaking classified information” and were not targeted at the New York Times reporters.
By Troy Myers
