US Justice Department subpoenas New York Times freelancer over North Korea story, paper says
The Times is funding Matthew Cole’s defense as prosecutors seek more than two years of notes and testimony to identify his source.
- On Aug 1, The New York Times reported that The Justice Department subpoenaed Freelancer Matthew Cole regarding his 2025 investigation into a botched military operation in North Korea.
- Cole's 2025 report detailed how Navy SEALs killed several unarmed North Koreans in early 2019 while attempting to plant a listening device near the country's coast, citing two dozen unnamed sources.
- Federal prosecutors from Virginia seek two years of Cole's notes and testimony to identify his sources, though The New York Times is providing his legal defense.
- New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander called the move 'another brazen and illegal attack,' noting that The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post faced similar subpoenas in recent months.
- Journalist Karly Kingsley labeled the action 'another step toward chilling free speech and press freedom' in a post on Bluesky, as critics warn the administration is escalating its hunt for sources.
39 Articles
39 Articles
Donald Trump's government continues its attacks on freedom of the press. A freelance reporter who reported on a secret military operation in North Korea for the New York Times is said to call his informants.
Prosecutors are demanding that the journalist disclose information about his contacts and sources over the past two years.
The Billings Gazette
Department of Justice subpoenaed freelancer
The Justice Department subpoenaed the records of a freelance journalist for the New York Times as part of a probe into the sourcing of a 2025 story about a botched U.S. military operation in North Korea, the newspaper said Saturday.
According to an article on a failed military operation in North Korea, the U.S. Department of Justice is now demanding notes and a testimony from the author. The "New York Times" speaks of another "third and illegal attack by the government."
The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a subpoena to New York Times reporter Matthew Cole, who reported on the failure of a U.S. Navy SEAL infiltration operation into North Korea in 2019, demanding that he disclose his sources. The government cited the search for leaked classified information as the reason, but the media outlet is strongly protesting, calling it an act that threatens freedom of the press.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
