Justice Dept. drops 'New York Times' subpoenas under pressure from judge

The Justice Department is dropping the subpoenas it filed demanding grand jury testimony and phone records from New York Times journalists after sharp questioning Thursday from a federal judge.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8640x5760+0+0/resize/8640x5760!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd8%2Ff7%2F47a8b18b4b1d9d884f766f2fb887%2Fgettyimages-2235207251.jpg' alt='"It's a great day for the First Amendment and a great day for the rule of law," <em>New York Times </em>attorney David McGraw said after the government agreed to withdraw the subpoenas of <em>Times </em>journalists.'/><p>The Justice Department is dropping the subpoenas it filed demanding grand jury testimony and phone records from <em>New York Times</em> journalists after sharp questioning Thursday from a federal judge.<br><br></p><p>(Image credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5905732' />