Federal agents executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at the Virginia home of a Washington Post reporter as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified information.
The reporter, Hannah Natanson, was home at the time of the search, the Post said.
Natanson, who covers the federal workforce for the Post, has publicly described herself as the paper's "federal government whisperer," a label she has used to describe her extensive network of sources inside the federal bureaucracy.
According to the search warrant and an FBI affidavit, investigators told Natanson she was not the target of the probe. Instead, the investigation centers on Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Maryland-based government contractor with top-secret security clearance.
Federal authorities allege Perez-Lugones illegally accessed and retained classified intelligence materials, which were later found in his lunchbox and in the basement of his home.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the search in a statement, saying it was conducted at the request of the Department of War.
In a post on X, Bondi said the Justice Department and the FBI executed the warrant after determining the journalist had obtained and reported classified information that had been illegally leaked by a Pentagon contractor.
"The leaker is currently behind bars," Bondi wrote. "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."
Federal authorities charged Perez-Lugones after searching his home and vehicle in Laurel, Maryland, where they allegedly found documents related to national defense, according to The Baltimore Sun.
An affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore states that Perez-Lugones logged into a classified system, took handwritten notes, and removed those materials from secure facilities. Prosecutors also allege he improperly accessed and captured screenshots of classified intelligence related to a foreign country.
During Wednesday's search, agents seized Natanson's phone, two laptops — one personal and one issued by the Post — and a Garmin watch, according to the Post.
Natanson has played a central role in some of the Post's most sensitive reporting during the second Trump administration. In a December first-person essay, she detailed how she posted her secure phone number on an online forum for government workers and said she built a network of more than 1,000 federal sources.
She wrote that government employees contacted her around the clock to share concerns about policy changes, firings, and shifting agency missions under President Donald Trump.
The search follows Bondi's April decision to rescind a Biden-era policy that restricted investigators from accessing reporters' records while probing leaks. Bondi said at the time that such protections had allowed classified information to be unlawfully disclosed, calling the practice "illegal and wrong."
Former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron criticized the action, calling it "a clear and appalling sign" of aggression against the press.
Newsmax has reached out to The Washington Post for comment.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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