Bondi: Pentagon Contractor Accused of Leaking to WaPo To Remain Jailed
A federal judge on Thursday ordered a Pentagon contractor accused of hoarding classified national defense information to remain behind bars, underscoring the Trump administration’s aggressive posture toward national security leaks that endanger U.S. interests.
Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, a systems engineer with a top-secret security clearance, was taken into custody last week on criminal charges alleging he unlawfully removed highly sensitive documents from his workplace and stored them at his Maryland home. Prosecutors say the materials included foreign national security intelligence and posed a serious threat to the country if compromised.
During a hearing in Baltimore, U.S. District Chief Judge George Levi Russell III agreed to keep Perez-Lugones detained after defense attorneys conceded they were unprepared to move forward. The former U.S. Navy servicemember and IT specialist faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.
President Donald J. Trump, currently serving his second term, weighed in publicly on the case, signaling zero tolerance for internal sabotage of U.S. security.
“The leaker has been found and is in jail right now — and that’s the leaker on Venezuela. A very bad leaker,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
The arrest comes amid a wider federal investigation that has also drawn scrutiny after the FBI executed a search warrant on Jan. 14 at the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson. Federal agents seized electronic devices and other materials as part of efforts to trace the source of unauthorized disclosures, according to statements from the Justice Department and the newspaper.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the warrant was issued at the request of the Department of Defense and was tied to identifying the individual responsible for leaking classified information. While she said the leaker is now in custody, she declined to say whether any classified materials were found among the journalist’s belongings.
“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,” she said this week, per the New York Post.
Federal prosecutors argued forcefully against releasing Perez-Lugones, warning that his decades-long access to sensitive intelligence makes him uniquely dangerous if left unsupervised.
“The Defendant has held a security clearance for over 25 years and the Government cannot ensure the safety of the country and US military personnel without detention,” prosecutors wrote in a Jan. 13 filing.
“Only detention would provide the government a way to monitor whether the Defendant uses any of his knowledge to threaten national security,” the filing added.
Although a magistrate judge had initially outlined conditions for possible release, prosecutors pressed for continued detention, citing the severity of the alleged misconduct.
According to an FBI special agent’s affidavit, Perez-Lugones allegedly printed screenshots of a classified intelligence report related to a foreign nation on October 28, 2025. Investigators further allege that between Jan. 5 and 7, he took handwritten notes on a yellow legal pad, placed them in a black bag, and brought them home.
The Washington Post has emphasized that Natanson, who reports on federal government operations, has not been charged and was told neither she nor the newspaper is a target of the investigation. Executive Editor Matt Murray labeled the search of her home “extraordinary,” expressing concern about its broader implications for press freedom.
Washington Post publisher Will Lewis also defended the reporter following the raid, stating: “Hannah is one of our finest reporters, who works tirelessly to inform our readers about what is actually happening in government.”
Predictably, press freedom advocates and left-leaning journalists have criticized the search warrant, arguing it could chill sources and threaten First Amendment protections. Federal law generally limits searches of journalists’ work materials unless there is evidence the reporter committed a crime.
The case also follows recent shifts within the Justice Department, including the Trump administration’s decision to roll back prior restrictions that limited the government’s ability to seize reporters’ communications during leak investigations—moves supporters argue are necessary to restore accountability and protect national security.