The White House has reportedly established a "war room" to identify the source of a security-related information leak regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's new Air Force One aircraft.

CNN reported on July 15 (local time) that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and FBI Director Kash Patel recently directed an investigation into the leak directly from the White House.

It is reported that President Trump spoke directly with Director Patel to discuss the leak after The New York Times (NYT) published a report regarding security issues with the new presidential aircraft.

Sources stated that Director Patel, who canceled a scheduled trip to Chicago and rushed to the White House, set up a "war room"—an ad-hoc command center—in an office next to Chief of Staff Wiles to oversee the investigation.

The investigation targeted federal government employees who had accompanied President Trump on overseas trips or were involved in related duties.

The White House reportedly demanded that these individuals surrender their mobile phones.

A White House official stated, "Leaks that threaten the safety of the President, staff, and the traveling press corps are a threat to national security," adding, "We will take every legally available measure to ensure this does not happen again."

Separately from the investigation into government employees, the Department of Justice issued subpoenas to three NYT reporters who wrote the article, ordering them to appear before a federal grand jury.

In response, the media industry criticized the Department of Justice's subpoenas as an infringement on freedom of the press, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The New York Times filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on the same day, requesting that the Department of Justice's subpoenas be quashed.

In a statement, the NYT said, "The Department of Justice subpoenas were issued maliciously for the purpose of retaliation," and added, "We will fight in court to protect the right to freely cover the government and provide reports to the public."

The NYT reported that the new presidential aircraft, donated by Qatar, lacked certain missile defense systems, a claim that President Trump has denied.