DOJ issued then withdrew grand jury subpoenas compelling Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reporters to testify in Iran leak probe
Between spring and early June 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice issued grand jury subpoenas to Washington Post national security reporter Ellen Nakashima and three Wall Street Journal reporters, seeking to compel their testimony in a national security leak investigation tied to coverage of internal Pentagon warnings to President Trump about the February 2026 Iran war. Both news organizations challenged the subpoenas in sealed proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The DOJ withdrew all four subpoenas in early June 2026 before any reporter testified; the matter was publicly disclosed on June 23, 2026.
Headline: DOJ issued, then withdrew, grand jury subpoenas to force Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reporters to testify in a national security leak investigation. Dates: Trigger article published February 23, 2026 (WSJ). Records subpoenas to the Wall Street Journal issued March 4, 2026. Reporter testimony subpoenas (Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post and three Wall Street Journal reporters) issued in spring 2026. Sealed challenges filed by both newsrooms in the Eastern District of Virginia. All four subpoenas withdrawn in early June 2026. Public disclosure June 23, 2026. Individuals and organizations involved: Ellen Nakashima (Washington Post national security correspondent); three Wall Street Journal reporters whose names were not publicly confirmed because proceedings remained sealed; The Washington Post; Dow Jones & Company / Wall Street Journal; U.S. Department of Justice; Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche (who assumed the role after Pam Bondi's removal in approximately April 2026); former Attorney General Pam Bondi (who in April 2025 rescinded the Garland-era media protection policy that had previously restricted such subpoenas); President Donald Trump (reported by CNN and the WSJ to have personally directed the leak probes after handing Blanche a stack of Iran articles annotated 'Treason'). What happened (fact-based timeline): On February 23, 2026, the Wall Street Journal published 'Pentagon Flags Risks of a Major Operation Against Iran,' reporting that Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and other Pentagon officials had warned President Trump about the risks of a prolonged campaign against Iran. Trump launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, 2026. On March 4, 2026, the DOJ issued grand jury subpoenas to the Wall Street Journal seeking reporter records connected to the Iran coverage. Separately, in the spring of 2026, the DOJ issued grand jury subpoenas compelling testimony from Washington Post reporter Ellen Nakashima and three Wall Street Journal reporters in a federal grand jury proceeding in the Eastern District of Virginia. Both newsrooms challenged the subpoenas in sealed federal court proceedings. On May 11, 2026, the WSJ publicly disclosed the records subpoenas. On May 12, 2026, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the subpoenas publicly, stating that 'Prosecuting leakers who share our nation's secrets with reporters... is a priority for this administration.' Dow Jones spokesperson Ashok Sinha called the subpoenas 'an attack on constitutionally protected newsgathering.' In early June 2026, the DOJ withdrew all four reporter-testimony subpoenas before any journalist testified. The withdrawal was publicly disclosed on June 23, 2026 in simultaneous reports by the Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, AP, Politico, and UPI. Legal authority used: Federal grand jury subpoenas (both for records and for live testimony) issued through the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, under authority restored by the April 25, 2025 Bondi memorandum that rescinded the Garland-era policy (28 C.F.R. § 50.10) barring compulsory process against journalists for newsgathering activities. Outcome: All four testimony subpoenas withdrawn before any reporter testified or was held in contempt. The DOJ provided no public explanation for the withdrawal. Acting AG Blanche did not foreclose reissuance. No source was publicly identified as a result of the subpoenas. Court proceedings remained under seal; no docket numbers were publicly available. Why it matters: The case marked the most aggressive federal effort in roughly a decade to compel mainstream-newsroom journalists to testify before a federal grand jury about their confidential sources. It tested the legal architecture created by the April 2025 rescission of the Garland media policy and demonstrated both the DOJ's willingness to deploy grand jury subpoenas against working reporters and the newsrooms' capacity to resist them through sealed litigation. Confidential journalistic sources were directly at issue. The subpoenas were withdrawn, not enforced; no court reached the merits. Press freedom organizations including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reporters Without Borders, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and the National Press Club condemned the subpoenas; the DOJ defended them as a legitimate national security measure. The Knock Report distinguishes the documented procedural facts (subpoenas issued, challenged, and withdrawn) from disputed characterizations of motive and intent on either side.