Federal agents raided the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson on Wednesday morning in connection with a classified leak investigation tied to a Pentagon contractor now in custody. The surprise search, executed in Virginia, marks a major escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on national security leaks.
Natanson, known for her reporting on the Trump administration’s restructuring of federal agencies, was home at the time of the raid. FBI agents seized two laptops, a cell phone, and a Garmin watch, according to the Post. While Natanson was not named as a target of the investigation, the Department of Justice believes she had been receiving sensitive information from a contractor with top-secret clearance.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the operation and issued a stern warning to would-be leakers.
“This past week, at the request of the Department of War, 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. “The leaker is currently behind bars.”
That alleged leaker has been identified as Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator from Maryland. Investigators reportedly found classified materials inside his lunchbox and stored in his basement. Perez-Lugones held top-secret clearance and is accused of smuggling intelligence documents out of secure facilities.
Bondi praised the cooperation between DOJ and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying the administration would not tolerate what she called “dangerous” breaches of classified information.
“This is not just about paperwork,” Bondi said. “These leaks put American lives at risk.”
Natanson previously admitted in a profile that she gained access to over a thousand sources inside the federal government by posting her phone number on forums frequented by disgruntled employees. Her reporting has been critical of Trump-era agency reforms and earned her a Pulitzer Prize, but also put her on the radar of federal investigators concerned about the flow of classified material.
While the law generally protects journalists who publish classified information without soliciting illegal activity, Bondi rolled back prior Biden-era restrictions that had barred federal agents from searching reporters’ records. Under current policy, such actions are permitted only after other investigative avenues are exhausted.
Some in the legacy media have predictably rallied to Natanson’s defense, but officials within the Trump administration say this is a clear case of national security over press privilege.
“The government has no interest in silencing journalists,” Bondi said, “but it does have an interest in stopping criminal leaks that threaten the safety of our military and intelligence personnel.”
The Department of Justice has not ruled out additional charges as the investigation unfolds.
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