The New York Times was right to report on Qatar-gifted Air Force One

OPINION:

The Department of Justice has subpoenaed four New York Times journalists in response to the newspaper’s report on a security matter that required President Trump to fly home on the old Air Force One, not the Qatari-gifted plane, from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

This is not a fight the White House should win. It’s not even a fight the administration should wage.

The New York Times may be one of the worst news outlets in terms of providing fair coverage to Trump, to Republicans, to MAGA, to anyone who stands opposed to the leftists who’ve infiltrated the Democrat Party and to anything that counters the Democrat-produced narrative. But that doesn’t mean all of its stories are invalid.

“Security Precaution Led Trump to Use Old Air Force One in Leaving Turkey,” The Times wrote in a headline on July 8.

“The Secret Service is said to have asked that the president not use the Qatari-donated jet when he left Ankara. The swap deepens questions about the retrofitting of the new plane,” the news outlet continued.

The White House — rightly enough — wants to know who leaked that information to the journalists. Controlling the flow of information is key to any administration’s success; more than that, it’s crucial to maintaining national security. Every White House since the dawn of White Houses has had to deal with the uncomfortable reality of information leaks. Given the nature of the White House, too, and the high-level status of the office itself, every administration can make the claim that any bit of information that’s leaked is a potential national security threat.

But not all are.

One of the government’s favorite tools of censorship, in fact, is the phrase “national security.” 

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It’s ultimately a tightrope walk between the government and the free press — both of which claim to represent the citizens — to decide what information is public, what is sensitive and worthy of concealing, and to hope that the boundaries aren’t ever crossed to the point of causing harm, including injury and death, or of watering down freedoms.

The Qatari plane story squarely lies in the purview of the free press.

When Trump first announced the gift of a new Air Force One from Qatar, critics warned of the potential for national security lapses and foreign government spying. Qatar, after all, is not a true friend to America. The nation has given free passage to the Muslim Brotherhood, and in so doing, sheltered the very enemies America and Israel have been fighting for years. So there’s that.

Worth watching.

Add to that this U.S. war against Iran, and all the geopolitical complexities that go along with a military operation conducted against religious zealots with tentacles that stretch across continents — oh, yes, and ‘lest we forget, the enemy’s announced determination to kill Trump — well then, it’s only logical to wonder: How safe is America’s commander-in-chief aboard a plane created by a country that shelters Americans’ enemies?

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Apparently, not very.

The Times did America a service by reporting on “the security precaution related to the resumption of hostilities with Iran” and the need for Trump to fly home from NATO aboard the original Air Force One. If Trump is in danger, the American people have a right to know. If the plane on which Trump flies is unsafe for his travel, the American people have a right to know.

And subpoenaing the journalists who reported on this important story might be a valid move to discover the identity of the leakers — but not as a first move. Not as the start of the investigation into the leaks.

“By starting the investigation this way,” said George Freeman, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center, in The Hill, “this turns precedent on its head. The law is clear. Reporters should be the last place you go in an investigation, especially if you’re trying to find their confidential sources, not the first place.”

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The press has fanned the flames in recent times — in recent Trump-MAGA times — by assuming watchdog, pitfall duties against all-things-Republican and turning blind eyes to anything-done-by-Democrats. Russia collusion comes to mind. Pee tapes and prostitutes and pretending Trump is a pedophile come to mind. But a thousand biased hit pieces don’t wipe out the one that emerges as fact-based and fair.

And the sensitivity of the Qatari-gifted plane is a valid topic that demands press coverage. The American people have a right to know.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.

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