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Foreign. 20:26 last night, the Department of Justice subpoenaed reporters from the New York Times over a story the newspaper published on Wednesday. Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmidt reported that the Secret Service had security concerns about the new Air Force One Boeing 7478 to the US by Qatar. So when tensions escalated with Iran while Trump was in Turkey for the NATO summit, they asked the president to use one of the other older Air Force One planes for his return journey. Trump and White House officials pushed back strongly against the idea that the new plane had any security problems after pouring what appears to have been hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into renovating the plane. But according to Adam Grimegna of Military.com, uS officials told CBS News that the speed with which the plane was rushed into service meant that it does not have the same protections as the older planes. According to Devlin Barrett, Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, the story that his prized plane was not as good as the older ones enraged Trump, and the White House called in FBI Director Kash Patel to find the two anonymous sources who leaked it. Patel spent about eight hours on Friday running an investigation from the White House rather than FBI headquarters before the reporters received the subpoenas. U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, whom Trump has nominated to be the next director of national Intelligence, issued the subpoenas. The reporters are ordered to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal criminal law. The Department of Justice said the subpoenas are related to the crime of leaking national security information. The Justice Department emphasized that reporters are not the targets those leaking classified information are. But issuing subpoenas to US Journalists who are protected from government interference by the First Amendment is a huge red flag. As former Time magazine editor Rick Stengel noted, the reporting that the Times journalists have been subpoenaed for is exactly the kind of journalism the First Amendment is designed to protect matters involving national security and taxpayer dollars. Reporting that embarrasses a president is protected speech. David McCraw, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for the Times, said the appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects. Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public's right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used. This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating, intimidating journalists from doing their jobs. By 11:18pm on Friday, Trump's fury had turned back to Iran. He posted on social media that if Iran tried to assassinate him, locked and loaded missiles would begin to rain down on the country to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran. Praise be to Allah. Today he turned his anger toward those questioning his mental acuity, particularly New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman, who commented on msnow about his reference in Turkey to the Islamic State of Japan. At 12:23pm he lashed out at Maggot Hagerman and then, to refute her claims, wrote that he just finished a perfect physical at Walter Reed. I do it every six months and I requested another cognitive test. The only president to do so three times and I aced them all, got every question right. Few people in Washington, D.C. could do so, including Maggot and her flunky associate Jonathan Swan. I would be willing to bet they couldn't get 50% of the questions right. The White House said Trump was referring to a physical he underwent in May. Then at 3:16, the President's account posted a screed of almost 450 words complaining angrily that I win the election in a landslide against the entire Democrat party against almost 100% negative press and fake news, especially Maggot Hagerman, one of the most unattractive people in the news business, and her lightweight assistant, Jonathan Swan. All I do is win, often against all odds. Yet no one compliments him on his great successes Here he may have had in mind Thursday's news story from Katherine Rampel of the Bulwark about his claim on social media on Monday that Walmart would be dropping the price of ground beef by almost 15% at my administration's request. Rampel reported that a Walmart spokesperson told her a different story. The price cuts were part of usual summer rollbacks, which had begun the week before Trump took credit for them. Rampel noted that Trump looks for opportunities to slap his name on politically useful things that companies were already planning to do seasonal sales, major investments, hiring, et very much cetera. White House spokesperson Kush Desai clarified on social media that the president's announcement was that the sale is extending all summer long, adding the media's obsessive need to try to undermine any good news when it affects President Trump is pathological. A rant about the news media took up most of Trump's long post, as he insisted that those reporting his bad poll numbers and policy failures have no credibility if the election was held again today, I would win by even more, actually much more, he posted. The Democrats don't have what it takes. Their policies are wrong and they are generally stupid people. They are going communist because they are a desperately sinking ship and there's not a thing they can do about it. Instead of writing inaccurate false articles for over 10 years now, shouldn't it be time that they say we give up? We can't beat him. There seems nothing we can do. Isn't it time they say Trump is the best political athlete of all time? Congratulations Mr. President. You have beaten us for 10 years and we are not going to waste our time fighting you any longer. We can't win. Do a great job sir running our country. Make America great again. Journalist Aaron Rupar used a common meme often used to respond to unreasonably long posts. I ain't readin all that, he commented. I'm happy for you though, or sorry that happened. Conservative lawyer George Conway wrote, a severely mentally ill man has control of the launch codes for America's nuclear arsenal, but it doesn't seem that many people care. Almost 450 words evidently weren't enough. At 454, he reiterated the themes of the long post in a shorter one, then a minute later accused the dumb ocrats of being communists. A minute after that, he claimed the radical left lunatics often referred to as Democrats, have lost control of their party. Apparently, media criticism still stung. At 5:27, Trump took on reports of the high cost of his damaging renovations in Washington, D.C. posting photos of what he said was the horrible front of the White House. He continued, the radical left Democrats criticize me for spending so much time bringing our White House back to the glory of a hundred years ago. Actually, it will be far better than that, and they will not shame us for bringing our great and brilliant monuments to the past and the future back to levels never seen before. This is what we are doing all over Washington, D.C. and in different ways with our country itself. But his confidence that American voters will support Republicans in the 2026 elections is shaky enough that he continues to call for the Senate to rig them. At 6:07, he reposted what purported to be a poll from right wing loyalist Senator Mike Lee, a Republican of Utah, claiming that 97.2% of supporters want the Senate to take up the Voter Suppression Save America act when it goes back into session next week, while only 2.8% want the Senate to take up anything else. Meanwhile, on Friday, a Pentagon official told Rebecca turco of WJLA 7 News in Washington, D.C. that National Guard troops will stay activated in Washington through Inauguration Day 2029 until law and order are fully restored in our nation's capital. So Bill Kristol of the Bulwark commented, military troops under the direct control of Trump and Hegseth will be on the streets of our nation's capital for the rest of Trump's term. The rationale they're here to help with a crime emergency is laughable. But of course, the real reason is ominous.
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Letters from an American was written and read by Heather Cox Richardson. It was produced at Soundscape Productions, Dedham, MA. Recorded with music composed by Michael Moss.