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The DOJ has subpoenaed four New York Times journalists after the paper reported that the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One lacks some of the security features of the older plane.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: The Times published a story last Wednesday, citing anonymous sources, reporting that the Secret Service urged Trump to leave the NATO summit in Turkey on the older Air Force One rather than the new Boeing 747-8. The next day, the paper reported the new jet lacked “defensive countermeasures that were security features of the old model, including its advanced antimissile capabilities.” Trump denied any security concerns, claiming the older plane’s stop at RAF Mildenhall was so service members could tour the new jet, though when asked about credible threats, he said, “I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.” Notably, before the Times published, a senior FBI official contacted a reporter and editor asking them to hold the story for unspecified national security reasons and to identify their sources. The Times refused both requests.

What’s going on now: Federal agents delivered subpoenas Friday evening, some directly to the reporters’ homes, targeting the four journalists bylined on last Wednesday’s story: Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt. The subpoenas demand the reporters appear Wednesday before a federal grand jury in Manhattan “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.”

They were issued by US Attorney Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York, who Trump just tapped to run national intelligence. The subpoenas landed the same day FBI Director Kash Patel and other DOJ officials huddled at the White House over the reporting, per a person familiar with the talks.

The Times came out swinging, with a lawyer for the news outlet saying, “The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects. This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”

The DOJ insists that the “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are” and that they “value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country.”

Press freedom groups aren’t buying it. Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the subpoenas “break from longstanding Justice Department practice to protect the public interest and press independence by requiring prosecutors to only seek information from reporters as a last resort when all other avenues have been exhausted,” and called on senators to hold Clayton accountable at his intelligence committee hearing Wednesday.

This all comes as Trump is separately locked in personal legal fights with the Times over how it covers him, while the paper has its own suit against the Defense Department for restricting Pentagon press access.