At a Glance
- FBI agents searched Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s Virginia home on Wednesday
- Devices seized include a phone and Garmin watch; Natanson is not the investigation’s target
- The probe centers on Maryland system administrator Aurelio Perez-Lugones, charged Jan. 9 with unlawful retention of national defense information
- Attorney General Pam Bondi says the search was requested by the Pentagon
- Why it matters: The rare home search of a working journalist signals a hardened federal crackdown on leaks and could chill source cooperation
FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Virginia residence of Washington Post education reporter Hannah Natanson, seizing a phone and Garmin watch while insisting the journalist herself is not suspected of wrongdoing, the newspaper reported Wednesday.
The operation is part of a Justice Department probe into Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Navy veteran and system administrator from Laurel, Maryland, who is accused of spiriting classified documents out of secure facilities and allegedly sharing them with reporters.
Target of the Investigation
Perez-Lugones, who holds a Top Secret clearance, was charged in a January 9 criminal complaint with “unlawful retention of national defense information.”
According to the affidavit:
- He accessed databases without authorization beginning in October 2025
- Printed or screenshot material “related to a foreign country”
- Was under surveillance inside a SCIF- a sealed room for top-secret work- days before his arrest
- Left his workplace January 6 carrying a black bag captured on security cameras
- Investigators later found SECRET-marked papers in his basement and inside a lunch box in his car
The complaint stresses that Perez-Lugones “had no need to know and was not authorized to search for, access, view, screenshot, or print any of this information.”
Escalation Against Leaks
While leak inquiries are routine, a physical search of a reporter’s home is highly unusual and marks an aggressive turn in the Trump administration’s anti-leak campaign.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X: “Leaking classified information puts America’s national security and the safety of our military heroes in serious jeopardy. President Trump has zero tolerance for it.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who in April rescinded Obama-era restraints on subpoenaing journalists, said the Justice Department acted at the Pentagon’s request.
> “This Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation’s national security,” Bondi wrote.
Reporter Caught in Middle
Natanson, a Harvard graduate and part of the Post team that won the 2022 Pulitzer for Jan. 6 coverage, has chronicled the federal workforce upheaval under the current administration. A recent first-person piece detailed how more than a thousand government employees contacted her with concerns, prompting a colleague to dub her “the federal government whisperer.”
Investigators explicitly told Natanson she is not the focus of their probe, the Post reported, yet press-advocacy groups argue the very act of raiding her home endangers source confidentiality.
Tim Richardson of PEN America condemned the move:
> “Targeting a reporter in their own home as part of a federal law enforcement action is an extraordinary escalation that strikes at the heart of press freedom. It is intended to intimidate sources and chill journalists’ ability to gather news.”
He added the tactic is “more commonly associated with authoritarian police states than democratic societies.”
What Comes Next
The criminal complaint against Perez-Lugones makes no allegation that Natanson solicited or received classified data, and the Washington Post says it is “monitoring and reviewing the situation.”
Neither the FBI nor the Justice Department offered additional comment Wednesday. Lawyers for Perez-Lugones did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Key Takeaways
- The Justice Department has shifted back to aggressive leak-hunting tactics, including warrants against journalists
- A government contractor, not the reporter, faces charges, but the search of Natanson’s home sends a warning to sources
- Press-freedom advocates call for congressional oversight and public justification for the extreme measure
