DOJ Subpoenas WSJ and Others Over Iran War Coverage
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- Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas on March 4 to The Wall Street Journal and other outlets for journalists’ records related to Iran war coverage, after Trump’s pressure.
- Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney now heading the DOJ, demanded subpoenas targeting reporters who worked on sensitive national‑security stories.
- Trump handed a stack of news articles to Blanche with a sticky‑note reading “treason,” prompting the subpoenas.
- General Dan Caine and Pentagon officials warned the president on Feb 23 about risks of an extended Iran campaign; the subpoenas sought records of that story.
- Ashok Sinha, chief communications officer of Dow Jones, called the subpoenas an attack on constitutionally protected newsgathering and said the Journal will vigorously oppose them.
Why it matters: The subpoenas threaten journalists’ ability to report on national‑security issues, chilling press freedom while giving the DOJ a tool to expose sources; the media faces legal costs and the public loses transparent coverage of the Iran conflict.
