FBI Searches Washington Post Reporter's NoVA Home: Reports

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The FBI executed a search warrant at a Washington Post reporter's Northern Virginia home on Wednesday morning as part of an ongoing investigation into a government contractor in Maryland accused of illegally retaining classified documents, according to reports.

The Washington Post confirmed the FBI entered reporter Hannah Natanson's home and seized her phone, two laptops and a Garmin watch. One of the laptops was her personal computer, the other a Washington Post-issued laptop, the publication reported.

According to a New York Post report, Natanson's home is located in Alexandria.

An affidavit states the search was related to an investigation into a system administrator in Maryland, who authorities allege took classified reports home, according to The Washington Post. The system administrator, Aurelio Perez-Lugones, was charged earlier this month with unlawful retention of national defense information, according to court papers.

Perez-Lugones, who held a top-secret security clearance, is accused of printing classified and sensitive reports at work. In a search of his Maryland home and car this month, authorities found documents marked “SECRET,” including one in a lunchbox, according to court papers.

The FBI searched the Laurel home and vehicle of Perez-Lugones and allegedly found documents related to national defense in his lunchbox and his basement, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Perez-Lugones works at a contracting company in Annapolis Junction near Fort Meade and has a “Top Secret” security clearance, according to an FBI affidavit.

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press. The Washington Post said Wednesday that it was monitoring and reviewing the situation.

While classified documents investigations aren't unusual, the search of a reporter's home marks an escalation in the government's efforts to crack down on leaks.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the search was done at the request of the Pentagon.

President Donald Trump's 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 post on X.

Over the years, the Justice Department has developed and revised internal guidelines governing how it responds to news media leaks.

In April, Bondi issued new guidelines saying prosecutors would again have the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists.

The moves rescinded a Biden administration policy that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.