WASHINGTON — FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson on Wednesday, seizing electronic devices as part of an investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of sharing classified information. The Justice Department confirmed the search, which has drawn sharp criticism from media executives and press freedom advocates.
Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that the operation was conducted at the request of the Department of Defense (identified in her statement as the “Department of War”). The search is connected to the prosecution of Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Maryland-based system administrator and Pentagon contractor charged earlier this month with unlawfully retaining national defense information.
According to the Washington Post, agents seized Natanson’s phone, two laptops—one personal and one issued by the Post—and a Garmin watch. Investigators reportedly informed Natanson she is not the target of the criminal probe.
Background
The search marks a significant shift in Justice Department policy regarding the news media. Under the previous administration, Attorney General Merrick Garland had implemented regulations strictly limiting the seizure of reporters’ records during leak investigations. However, in April 2025, Attorney General Bondi rescinded those policies, arguing in an internal memo that they were too restrictive and that “illegal leaks” would no longer be tolerated.
Natanson has recently reported extensively on the federal workforce and the Trump administration’s restructuring of government agencies. Her reporting has often relied on confidential sources within the federal government.
Objections and Reactions
The search prompted immediate backlash from The Washington Post and civil liberties groups. Matt Murray, the Post’s executive editor, described the raid as an “extraordinary, aggressive action” that raises “profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work.”
“The Washington Post has a long history of zealous support for robust press freedoms,” Murray said in a statement to staff. “The entire institution stands by those freedoms and our work.”
Conversely, the Justice Department defended the move as necessary for national security. “The Trump Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country,” Bondi said in a statement posted to social media.
Perez-Lugones, the contractor at the center of the investigation, holds a top-secret security clearance. He is accused of printing classified intelligence reports at his workplace and storing them in his home and lunchbox. The criminal complaint filed against him does not currently explicitly charge him with transmitting that information to the media, though the search warrant for Natanson’s home implies a connection.
