FBI Raids Washington Post Reporter Hannah Natanson's Home
Hannah Natanson FBI Conducts 'Aggressive' Raid On Washington Post Reporter's Home
Published
The FBI conducted an unprecedented raid on the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson on Wednesday.
FBI agents showed up to Natanson's home "unannounced," searched the premises and seized several electronic devices, according to The Washington Post and The New York Times. Neither Natanson nor the Washington Post was told they were targets of a Justice Department investigation.
Agents reportedly told Natanson she wasn't the target of their investigation, and she hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing.
Attorney General Pam Bondi addressed the raid on social media, claiming Natanson had been "obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor." Bondi said the contractor is behind bars.
The Washington Post obtained a warrant regarding an investigation into Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a systems administrator who's been accused of accessing and possessing classified intelligence reports. Feds in Maryland charged the Navy veteran last week with unlawfully retaining national defense information.
Natanson described herself as a "federal government whisperer" in a profile the Washington Post published last month, and said her work had earned her the trust of over 1,100 sources, many of whom had apparently given her information "people inside government agencies weren’t supposed to tell me."
The Washington Post's executive editor, Matt Murray, sent an email to staff describing the raid as "extraordinary" and "aggressive."
Former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron said the raid served as "a clear and appalling sign that this administration will set no limits on its acts of aggression against an independent press."
