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White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and FBI Director Kash Patel oversaw an investigation into leaks concerning security assessments of the Qatari-donated Air Force One aircraft, according to a report published Wednesday.
CNN, citing people familiar with the investigation, reported that some government officials were asked to surrender their cellphones as investigators sought to identify the source of information disclosed to the media.
The report said investigators also sought information from officials who traveled with President Donald Trump to the NATO summit in Turkey, as well as personnel from multiple federal agencies involved in the trip.
The report said Patel, who had been scheduled to travel to Chicago, instead returned to the White House on Friday to help direct the investigation.
The following day, The New York Times reported that the Justice Department had subpoenaed four of its reporters who wrote about security concerns involving the aircraft.
According to the newspaper, prosecutors sought to compel the journalists to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan, and federal agents delivered some of the subpoenas to the reporters’ homes.
CNN reported that Patel worked for about seven hours from an office adjacent to Wiles’, where the two coordinated the investigation from what one source described as a “war room” in the West Wing.
A White House official defended the inquiry in a statement.
“Leaks that jeopardize the safety of the president, his staff, and the traveling press pool are dangerous and a threat to national security,” the official said. “The White House takes these leaks seriously and will do everything legally to ensure the individual or individuals are caught and it does not happen again.”
President Trump used the approximately $400 million aircraft donated by Qatar to travel to the NATO summit in Turkey. However, he departed the country aboard the older Air Force One after receiving updated security recommendations, according to the report.
At a news conference following the summit, President Trump minimized reports that the newer aircraft had security shortcomings, saying it was traveling to several military installations in Europe “so the soldiers can see it, because it’s truly magnificent.”