Pentagon and Justice Department build joint task force to prosecute media leaks

Overview

Federal agents served four New York Times reporters with grand-jury subpoenas on July 10. The subpoenas were signed by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan and Trump's nominee to direct the intelligence community. The reporters must appear before a federal grand jury in New York on July 16.

On July 13, the Pentagon and Justice Department stood up a joint task force to pursue leakers. It gives their lawyers two days to compel records from any department component. Clayton testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on July 15; senators asked whether the prosecutor who subpoenaed reporters should direct U.S. intelligence.

Why it matters

A standing task force that can compel records in 48 hours changes the odds that a federal employee who talks to a reporter gets caught and charged.

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Key Indicators

4–5

Times reporters subpoenaed

Four bylined reporters received grand-jury subpoenas; a fifth, Adam Goldman, may also have been served.

2 days

Records compliance window

Pentagon components must fully answer the general counsel's requests within two days.

1917

Espionage Act year

The century-old law most often used to charge government leakers.

Permanent

Task force status

The body is structured as a standing mechanism, not a one-off review.

Voices

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People Involved

Pete Hegseth

Announced and now oversees the leak task force

Pam Bondi

Leads the Justice Department side of the task force

Jodie Ginsberg

Leading press-freedom pushback

Julian E. Barnes

Subpoenaed to a grand jury

Jay Clayton

Signed reporter subpoenas; testified at Senate DNI confirmation hearing July 15

Joe Kahn

Publicly opposing the subpoenas

Bruce D. Brown

Publicly opposing the subpoenas

Organizations Involved

Pentagon Office of General Counsel

Government legal office

Holds the new compulsion power

The Pentagon's top legal office, now empowered to demand any leak-related records from across the department within two days.

The New York Times

News organization

Fighting subpoenas; grand jury appearance for reporters set for July 16

The newspaper whose Air Force One reporting triggered the subpoenas at the center of this story.

Timeline

6 events Latest: Today

Tap a bar to jump to that date

July 2026
Clayton faces Senate questions over reporter subpoenas at DNI hearing
Today Political

Jay Clayton, Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence and the U.S. attorney who signed the NYT subpoenas, testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senators question whether his decision to subpoena reporters disqualifies him for the post.
Today • 9:30 AM
Policy details institutionalize the crackdown
Policy

Reporting confirms the Office of General Counsel can compel any Pentagon component to hand over leak records within two days.
Yesterday
Hegseth announces joint leak task force
Statement

Hegseth says the Pentagon and Justice Department formed a task force to find and prosecute leakers, and gives lawyers a two-day compulsion power.
2 days ago
Press groups call subpoenas an escalation
Reaction

The Committee to Protect Journalists and other advocates warn the subpoenas threaten press freedom and chill reporting.
4 days ago
Justice Department subpoenas four reporters
Legal

Agents serve grand-jury subpoenas on Times reporters Julian Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt, some at their homes.
5 days ago
Times reports Air Force One security gaps
Publication

The New York Times reports the Qatari-donated presidential plane lacks antimissile defenses built into the older aircraft.
7 days ago

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

May 2013

AP phone records seizure (2013)

The Justice Department secretly subpoenaed two months of phone records for about 20 Associated Press reporters, hunting the source of a story about a foiled Yemen bomb plot. The AP called it a massive and unprecedented intrusion into news-gathering.

Then

The disclosure drew bipartisan criticism and public apology pressure on the department.

Now

Attorney General Eric Holder tightened the rules for subpoenaing reporters, making media-leak investigations harder to pursue.

Why this matters now

It shows the same tool in reverse. Where 2013 ended in tighter limits on going after reporters, the 2026 task force builds a standing machine to do more of it.

2010

James Rosen named as co-conspirator (2010)

Investigators labeled Fox News reporter James Rosen a possible co-conspirator under the Espionage Act to get a warrant for his emails and phone logs in a State Department leak case. No charges were ever filed against him.

Then

The tactic sparked an outcry once it became public in 2013.

Now

It fed the debate over whether the Espionage Act can be turned against journalists, not just their sources.

Why this matters now

The 2026 task force revives that question. Subpoenaing reporters directly tests how far the government can reach toward the journalists themselves.

June 1971

Pentagon Papers (1971)

The Nixon administration tried to stop the Times and Washington Post from publishing a secret history of the Vietnam War leaked by analyst Daniel Ellsberg. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the government could not block publication.

Then

The papers kept publishing and Ellsberg was charged, though his case later collapsed over government misconduct.

Now

The ruling set a high bar against prior restraint and became the anchor case for U.S. press freedom.

Why this matters now

It marks the constitutional floor this story sits above. The 2026 effort targets sources and reporters after the fact, not publication itself, the line the 1971 case drew.