US administration issues subpoenas to journalists who wrote about possible problems with presidential plane

The US administration issued subpoenas on Friday to several New York Times journalists following their report on possible safety problems with the new presidential plane, Air Force One, the newspaper reported today.

The new plane, which United States President Donald Trump received as a gift from Qatar, entered service last week.

The subpoenas are aimed at forcing reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in New York on Wednesday, the newspaper said, adding that federal agents delivered some subpoenas to reporters at their homes.

"The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of journalists should shock the conscience of every American who believes in the Constitution and the freedom of the press it protects," said the newspaper's lawyer, David McCraw.

This development comes after Trump flew a new Air Force One to a NATO summit in Turkey recently. But he returned on one of the older models of Air Force One.

The sudden replacement of the aircraft came after a fragile ceasefire with Iran collapsed and the US launched air strikes on Iran, while Tehran attacked three Gulf Arab states.

Iran and Turkey share a border, which has sparked speculation that the plane donated by Qatar, which has undergone a $400 million renovation, lacks certain sophisticated safety systems.

The New York Times later reported that the replacement came at the urging of the Secret Service, which protects the US president. The paper added that the newer plane lacks some of the advanced safety features of the older planes, including anti-missile capabilities.

The American newspaper cited unnamed sources.

Trump denied any security concerns at the time, and himself denied to reporters accompanying him on the flight back that security concerns over Iran were a factor in the plane's replacement.

The White House later denied any safety flaws on the new plane.