Federal Judge Blocks DOJ From Searching Washington Post Reporter’s Devices In Classified Docs Probe

A federal judge temporarily blocked the Justice Department from searching Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s devices, which were confiscated under an FBI search warrant last week as part of a federal investigation into leaked classified materials.

U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter said on Wednesday that federal prosecutors cannot search Natanson’s devices as he weighs whether the government must turn the devices back over to the reporter, Reuters reported. Natanson and the Post argue that the FBI’s seizure of Natanson’s devices violate the First Amendment.

Porter said that Natanson and the Post “demonstrated good cause in their filings to maintain the status quo” until he can fully review the case. The judge also ordered the government to respond to the Post’s legal filing by January 28, with a hearing scheduled for early next month, the Post reported.

Journalists who publish classified information are protected under U.S. law, provided they obtained the classified material without coercion and did not ask anyone to break the law.

The FBI seized two laptops, a phone, and a Garmin watch from Natanson as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of leaking classified government materials. Natanson is not the target of the investigation, which is focused on Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a contractor with top-secret security clearance who allegedly took classified intelligence reports to his home.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said last week that Natanson was reporting on classified information that was “illegally leaked” by a “Pentagon contractor.” Bondi added that the accused leaker, whom she did not publicly identify, is in jail.

Natanson focuses on “covering the Trump administration’s reshaping of the government” and was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team at the Post. She has described herself as “the federal government whisperer” and wrote in an article published last month that she connected with more than 1,000 sources within the Trump administration after posting her phone number to an online forum for federal government employees. She said federal workers who reached out to her often expressed frustration with the administration.

The Washington Post condemned the federal government’s search of Natanson’s home and seizure of her devices.

“The outrageous seizure of our reporter’s confidential newsgathering materials chills speech, cripples reporting, and inflicts irreparable harm every day the government keeps its hands on these materials,” the Post said.

Last year, Bondi ended a policy implemented under former President Joe Biden that prohibited federal agencies from searching reporters’ devices to identify a leaker. Bondi said that under her leadership, federal authorities would search reporters’ devices and records only when necessary and after all other investigative avenues had been exhausted.