On Thursday afternoon, Justice Department attorneys withdrew subpoenas issued to New York Times reporters compelling them to reveal confidential sources, standing down after pushback from a “visibly irritated” federal judge, the AP reported. “Subpoenas are the last step, not the first step,” said Judge Arun Subramanian, echoing the paper’s arguments that the administration from its own leak-investigation guidelines. Thursday’s courtroom proceeding, said Times’ deputy general counsel David McCraw, “was an important affirmation of our country’s commitment to a free press.”
