The First Amendment isn’t just a suggestion, it’s the thin, fragile line between a transparent government and a closed-door regime. At the heart of that line sits an ethical pact: that reporters must be free to hunt for the truth without targets on their backs. But on Wednesday morning, some press groups allege that pact was set on fire after FBI agents descended on the home of a Washington Post reporter.
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Federal agents searched the Virginia home of Hannah Natanson, a Washington Post reporter, as part of a probe into Maryland government contractor Aurelio Perez-Lugones, Politico reported. The latter, who had top secret government clearance, allegedly printed and took screenshots of classified documents and intelligence reports at work and took them home, the Justice Department said. He was also accused of accessing classified reports related to a foreign country without any prior authorization.
His car and Maryland home was searched, the Associated Press reported, where authorities found documents marked “SECRET,” including one in a lunchbox. Court documents show Perez-Lugones was charged earlier this month with unlawful retention of national defense information.
Natanson, who covers the “most high-profile and sensitive coverage during the first year of the second Trump administration” per her employer, has described herself as the “federal government whisperer.” She was reportedly not the target of the probe and wasn’t accused of any wrongdoing. However, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the search at her home was done at the request of the Defense Department who said the journalist was “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.”
Agents seized her phone, laptops (including her personal computer and a Washington Post-issued laptop) and her Garmin watch, according to the Associated Press.
While classified documents investigations aren’t out of the ordinary, the search of a reporter’s home typically is. It can mark a terrifying escalation in the government’s efforts to crack down on leaks.
The Washington Post called the search a “highly unusual and aggressive” move by law enforcement. “It is exceptionally rare for law enforcement officials to conduct searches at reporters’ homes,” the newspaper said. “Federal regulations intended to protect a free press are designed to make it difficult to use aggressive law enforcement tactics against reporters to obtain the identities of their sources or information.”
However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that, “Leaking classified information puts America’s national security and the safety of our military heroes in serious jeopardy.” She added: “President Trump has zero tolerance for it and will continue to aggressively crack down on these illegal acts moving forward.”
Marty Baron, the Post’s former executive editor, told the Guardian how the search warrant was “a clear and appalling sign that this administration will set no limits on its acts of aggression against an independent press.”
Press freedom groups were united in their condemnation of the raid on Wednesday, including Bruce D Brown, president of the Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press. In a statement, he called, “Physical searches of reporters’ devices, homes and belongings are some of the most invasive investigative steps law enforcement can take.”
He added: “While we won’t know the government’s arguments about overcoming these very steep hurdles until the affidavit is made public, this is a tremendous escalation in the administration’s intrusions into the independence of the press.”
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