Attorneys for the United States government have withdrawn subpoenas seeking to compel three New York Times reporters to testify about their sources for a story concerning an Air Force One jet gifted to President Donald Trump by Qatar.

Judge Arun Subramanian criticized the government's lawyers for sloppy legal work, stating that subpoenas are not the first resort but the last. He added that in a civil proceeding, he would have asked for a show of cause why sanctions should not be issued.

The Trump administration had sought to keep the proceedings secret as it pressured reporters to reveal their sources, raising alarms for press freedoms in the US. The president and his allies have continued to aggressively target critical media and political opponents.

Similar subpoenas against reporters from the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal were recently withdrawn. Lawyers for the New York Times challenged the legitimacy of the grand jury subpoenas and requests for phone records of several journalists and their relatives.

The government claims it is pursuing those who leaked classified information about Trump using an older Air Force One model from a summit in Turkey instead of the Qatari-gifted jet. The Secret Service reportedly advised that the new jet, which cost $400 million to retrofit, lacks crucial security features such as anti-missile capabilities.

Source: www.aljazeera.com