Incident details
- Updated on
- Date of incident
- March 4, 2026
- Location
- Washington, District of Columbia
- Legal orders
-
-
subpoena
for
other testimony
- March 4, 2026: Pending
- Unknown date: Objected to
- June 23, 2026: Quashed
-
subpoena
for
other testimony
- Legal order target
- Journalist
- Legal order venue
- Federal
Subpoena/Legal Order
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, at left, with FBI Director Kash Patel during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on April 21, 2026.
DOJ drops subpoena for grand jury testimony by Wall Street Journal reporter
The Department of Justice has dropped the subpoenas it issued this spring to three reporters at The Wall Street Journal and another at The Washington Post, the Post reported June 23, 2026.
The Journal first reported in May that the newspaper and its journalists had been issued grand jury subpoenas in March. The requests reportedly concerned a Feb. 23 article — authored by reporters Shelby Holliday, Lara Seligman and Alexander Ward — about warnings given to President Donald Trump about the risks of a prolonged military campaign against Iran.
According to the Post, all four subpoenas sought testimony before a grand jury. Both newspapers challenged the legal orders in sealed proceedings before a federal court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Before a judge could issue a ruling, however, the DOJ withdrew the subpoenas.
Neither the Journal nor the DOJ responded to requests for comment.
In a statement posted to social media, a Post spokesperson said: “The unwarranted subpoena of our reporter Ellen Nakashima — a clear violation of constitutionally guaranteed press freedom — was another sign of the government seeking to compel journalists to become instruments of its investigations.”
It added that the newspaper would continue to stand behind its staff and fight any efforts that violate its First Amendment rights.
The Department of Justice obtained multiple subpoenas targeting The Wall Street Journal on March 4, 2026, as part of an internal leak investigation following reporting on the Iran war, the newspaper reported May 11.
According to the Journal, the grand jury subpoenas issued to the news outlet concerned a Feb. 23 article about warnings given to President Donald Trump about the risks of a prolonged military campaign against Iran.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was unable to verify the number of subpoenas obtained, to whom they were issued and what information each sought.
A spokesperson for Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, said in a statement: “The government’s subpoenas to The Wall Street Journal and our reporters represent an attack on constitutionally protected newsgathering. We will vigorously oppose this effort to stifle and intimidate essential reporting.”
Then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded Biden-era policies protecting journalists from becoming embroiled in federal leak investigations in April 2025.
After her removal from that position a year later, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche made clear that the department would not hesitate to subpoena members of the press who receive classified information.
“Prosecuting leakers who share our nation’s secrets with reporters, in turn risking our national security and the lives of our soldiers, is a priority for this administration,” Blanche wrote in a May 12 statement on social media. “Any witness, whether a reporter or otherwise, who has information about these criminals should not be surprised if they receive a subpoena about the illegal leaking of classified material.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
