FBI Raids Washington Post Reporter’s Home in Classified Leak Probe
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed this week that federal agents executed a search warrant at the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson as part of an expanding national security probe into the unlawful disclosure of classified U.S. military intelligence.
The operation, Patel said, followed the discovery of evidence indicating that a journalist had been receiving and publishing sensitive defense-related information from a Pentagon-connected government contractor — activity authorities believe may have jeopardized American military operations overseas.
“This morning the FBI and partners executed a search warrant of an individual at the Washington Post who was found to allegedly be obtaining and reporting classified, sensitive military information from a government contractor, endangering our warfighters and compromising America’s national security,” Patel said in a statement posted to X.
“The alleged leaker was arrested this week and is in custody. As this is an ongoing investigation, we will have no further comment.”
According to reports, agents searched Natanson’s residence in Alexandria, Virginia, early Tuesday morning, confiscating two laptops — one personal and one issued by the newspaper — along with her cellphone and a smartwatch. When a man answered the door, he reportedly told the Washington Post only, “We can’t talk.”
Natanson, who covers the federal workforce and has described herself as “the federal government whisperer,” has authored multiple pieces sharply critical of President Donald J. Trump’s second-term efforts to rein in Washington’s sprawling bureaucracy and overhaul the entrenched civil service.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the search Wednesday evening, characterizing the alleged leak as a serious threat to national security.
“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 Trump administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that pose a grave risk to our national security and to the brave men and women serving our country.”
Federal officials indicated the raid was part of a broader, coordinated effort to dismantle an insider network accused of siphoning classified defense information from secure Pentagon systems and funneling it to members of the press.
At the center of the case is Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a 41-year-old systems administrator based in Maryland who held top-secret clearance while working for a government subcontractor in Annapolis Junction — a region closely tied to U.S. defense and intelligence operations.
A criminal complaint filed on January 9 alleges that Perez-Lugones accessed restricted government databases to view classified intelligence related to a foreign country and illegally printed or photographed the material in October 2025. Investigators say he later accessed additional classified information in early January and removed handwritten notes from secure facilities on a yellow legal pad.
During a January 8 search of his Laurel, Maryland, home, FBI agents uncovered “multiple documents marked SECRET,” according to an affidavit submitted by FBI Special Agent Keith Starr. “One or more of these documents are related to national defense,” Starr wrote.
Perez-Lugones has been charged with unlawful retention of national defense information, a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors are seeking to keep him detained ahead of trial, arguing that his knowledge alone poses an ongoing security risk.
“The defendant is charged with a serious national security violation,” prosecutors wrote in a January 13 court filing. “Agents seized documents containing national defense information from the defendant’s car and home. However, the government cannot seize everything in his head.”
They further argued that “only detention would provide the government a way to monitor whether the defendant uses any of his knowledge to threaten national security.”
U.S. District Judge George Levi Russell III is expected to rule Thursday on whether Perez-Lugones will remain in custody pending trial. His legal team has declined to comment.
The Washington Post acknowledged the raid and seizure of Natanson’s equipment, stating it is seeking additional information from authorities. “We are deeply concerned whenever journalists are targeted by law enforcement for their reporting,” a newspaper spokesperson said.
The case represents one of the most forceful leak investigations in recent years and underscores the Trump administration’s renewed commitment to enforcing accountability for the mishandling of classified information — particularly when America’s military and national security are at stake.