Justice Department withdraws grand jury subpoenas targeting Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reporters

The U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn grand jury subpoenas that sought to force three Wall Street Journal reporters and Washington Post reporter Ellen Nakashima to testify in national security leak investigations. The retreat followed sealed legal challenges by the news organizations. The subpoenas, which acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended as part of an aggressive campaign against classified leaks, represented a major escalation that press freedom advocates and executive editor Matt Murray strongly condemned.

Grand jury subpoenas withdrawn

• ▪The Washington Post and Dow Jones, the owner of The Wall Street Journal, challenged the subpoenas in sealed federal court proceedings before the Justice Department rescinded them
• ▪President Donald Trump personally pressured acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to issue the subpoenas by handing him a stack of printed articles with the word "Treason" written on them
• ▪The grand jury subpoenas sought to compel active testimony from the four journalists in the Eastern District of Virginia regarding national security leak investigations
• ▪The subpoena issued to Washington Post reporter Ellen Nakashima was related to national security reporting on the intelligence community, Iran, and military boat strikes in the Caribbean
• ▪The United States Justice Department withdrew grand jury subpoenas targeting three reporters from The Wall Street Journal and one reporter from The Washington Post in June 2026

DOJ leak investigation policies

• ▪Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that reporters are not the targets of media leak investigations, but affirmed that the Justice Department will continue to investigate administration officials who leak classified information
• ▪Under the policy memo issued by Pam Bondi, members of the press are presumptively entitled to advance notice of investigative activities, and subpoenas must be narrowly drawn
• ▪In April 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a Joe Biden administration policy that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations

Press freedom concerns

• ▪A spokesperson for The Washington Post stated that the subpoena of Ellen Nakashima was an unwarranted violation of constitutionally guaranteed press freedom and an attempt to compel journalists to become instruments of government investigations
• ▪National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. characterized the government's attempt to seek grand jury testimony from journalists as one of the most aggressive actions against a free press in recent memory

FBI reporter home search

• ▪The FBI search of Hannah Natanson's home was part of a leak investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of taking home classified information
• ▪In January 2026, FBI agents executed a search warrant at the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson and seized her electronic devices