Judge bars FBI from probing Washington Post reporter’s electronics
A federal magistrate judge temporarily barred the FBI from examining electronics seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, while allowing the agency to retain the devices. U.S. Magistrate Judge william B. Porter said the FBI can keep two phones, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive, and a Garmin watch taken from Natanson’s home, but may not review their contents until at least a hearing scheduled for early next month. The seizure followed execution of a search warrant in an investigation of Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Pentagon contractor accused of unlawfully retaining classified national-defense materials; prosecutors say he was messaging Natanson around the time of his arrest. The Washington Post filed a motion demanding the return of the equipment, arguing the raid violated the First Amendment and statutory protections for journalists. The judge ordered the Department of Justice to respond to the paper’s filings by Jan. 28. Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly accused Natanson of reporting on classified information from the contractor; the FBI did not comment to the Washington Examiner.
Judge bars FBI from reviewing seized Washington Post reporter’s electronics
A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily declined to allow the FBI to examine electronics it seized from a Washington Post reporter’s home.
U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Porter ruled the agency is permitted to keep Hannah Natanson’s two phones, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive, and a Garmin watch that it seized from her residence last week. However, the FBI is not allowed to review the items, Porter wrote in a two-page ruling filed in federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The FBI is not permitted to investigate the electronics until at least early next month, when a hearing is scheduled on the case. The agency obtained them last week by executing a search warrant. It sought to investigate the items as part of an inquiry into a Pentagon contractor accused of illegally retaining classified documents.
But the Washington Post swiftly filed a court motion asking Porter to force the FBI to return the electronics to Natanson. The outlet warned that the seizure “flouts the First Amendment and ignores federal statutory safeguards for journalists.” It was that motion that Porter weighed in on during his ruling Wednesday. The judge ordered the Department of Justice to respond to the Washington Post’s filings by Jan. 28.
The case began after the DOJ accused Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator in Maryland who has a top-secret security clearance, of retaining classified national defense materials. A DOJ official said the suspect was messaging Natanson when he was arrested earlier this month, according to the Washington Post, which also reported that Natanson said she communicated with Perez-Lugones through Signal and phone.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has accused Natanson of reporting on classified information she garnered from Perez-Lugones.
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“The Department of Justice and FBI executed a search warrant at the home of a Washington Post journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor,” Bondi said in a post to X. “The leaker is currently behind bars. I am proud to work alongside Secretary Hegseth on this effort. 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.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the FBI for comment but did not receive a reply.
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