The decision follows reports that federal grand jury subpoenas were issued over the weekend to New York Times journalists who reported on security vulnerabilities regarding President Donald Trump's new aircraft gifted by Qatar.
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The New York Times characterized the legal actions as a direct assault on the press, describing it as "an extraordinary escalation in President Trump's efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations."
Legal representatives for the newspaper publicly objected to the deployment of federal law enforcement against journalists.
"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," said David McCraw, top newsroom lawyer for the New York Times.
A Department of Justice official countered that the investigation targets the government sources of the information rather than the media itself.
"Reporters are not the targets; those leaking classified information are," a spokesperson for the Justice Department told the New York Times on Saturday.
The official stated that the agency must balance press freedom with the protection of national secrets.
"We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation's secrets do what they're supposed to do with that information," added the Justice Department spokesperson.
Advocacy groups expressed concern over the broader implications of the federal investigation on public information access.
"This should alarm every American because it threatens the public's constitutional right to an independent press," said the Washington DC-based National Press Club.
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The federal actions follow previous attempts this year to compel testimony from reporters at the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, alongside a January federal raid on a Washington Post reporter's residence.
