Aug 1 (Reuters) – The Justice Department has 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 on Saturday.
Freelancer Matthew Cole was subpoenaed in February by Virginia prosecutors seeking more than two years’ worth of his notes as well as his testimony, according to the newspaper. Reuters could not immediately independently verify the information, but a spokesman for the Times said Cole is disclosing the subpoena.
“We support Matthew Cole’s decision to make public a subpoena that the government has attempted to keep secret,” New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said in an emailed statement.
The story co-written by Cole detailed how Navy SEALs in early 2019 killed several unarmed North Koreans during a mission to plant a listening device near the country’s coast, citing two dozen unnamed sources.
“It is part of the government’s escalating attacks on journalists, which should concern all Americans. … The demand that he disclose his sources is another brazen and illegal attack from the administration designed to deny the public information of vital importance,” Stadtlander said.
The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The newspaper is paying for Cole’s legal representation, the article said. His attorney, David A. O’Neil, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Sergio Non and Alistair Bell)
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