Aug 1 (Reuters) – The Justice Department has \u2060subpoenaed \u2060the records of \u2060a freelance journalist for the New York Times \u200bas part of a probe into the sourcing of a 2025 \u200cstory about a botched \u200cU.S. military operation in North Korea, the newspaper said \u2060on \u2060Saturday.<\/p>\n
Freelancer Matthew Cole was subpoenaed in February by Virginia \u200bprosecutors seeking more than two years’ worth of his notes as well as his testimony, according to the newspaper. Reuters could not \u200bimmediately independently verify the information, but a spokesman for \u2060the Times \u2060said\u00a0Cole is disclosing the \u2060subpoena.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe \u200bsupport Matthew Cole\u2019s decision to make public a subpoena that the \u200bgovernment has attempted \u2060to keep secret,” New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander\u00a0said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n
The story co-written by Cole detailed how Navy SEALs in early 2019 killed several unarmed North Koreans \u2060during a mission to plant a listening device near the \u2060country’s coast, citing two dozen unnamed sources.<\/p>\n
“It is part of the government\u2019s escalating attacks on journalists, which should concern all Americans. \u2026\u00a0The demand that he disclose his sources is another brazen and illegal attack from the administration designed to deny the public information of vital importance,\u201d Stadtlander said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately \u2060respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
The newspaper is paying for Cole’s legal representation, the article said. His attorney, David A. O’Neil, did not immediately respond to a \u200brequest for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by \u200bSergio Non and Alistair Bell)<\/p>\n
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