Federal agents executed a search warrant at the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of unlawfully retaining classified intelligence materials.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant Wednesday at the home of Hannah Natanson, a reporter for The Washington Post, as part of a broader probe into the alleged mishandling of classified government information by a federal contractor, Fox News reported.
Natanson was present at her Virginia residence during the search. According to a warrant cited by the Post and based on an FBI affidavit, investigators are examining the actions of Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator in Maryland with top secret security clearance who is accused of illegally accessing and removing classified intelligence materials. The warrant states that classified documents were allegedly discovered in Perez-Lugones’ lunchbox and basement.
Natanson, who covers what her X profile describes as “the Trump administration’s reshaping of the government and its effects,” told her employer that FBI agents searched her home and electronic devices, seizing a phone and a Garmin watch.
According to a criminal complaint, Perez-Lugones is a U.S. citizen born in Miami who resides in Laurel, Maryland. He has worked as a government contractor since 2002 and currently serves in what the complaint characterizes as an administrative role. He is employed as a systems engineer and information technology specialist by a government contracting firm whose primary client is a federal agency. His workplace is located in Annapolis Junction, Maryland.
The complaint alleges that Perez-Lugones used classified databases and repositories to search for and view an intelligence report related to a foreign country. He is accused of taking a screenshot of the report and printing it. At least one document marked “secret” that was found in his basement was related to national defense, according to the filing.
The Washington Post reported that Natanson has been involved in some of the newspaper’s most sensitive coverage during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term. A spokesperson for the Post told Fox News Digital that the newspaper is “reviewing and monitoring the situation.”
Attorney General Pamela Bondi addressed the search in a public statement posted on social media. “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 wrote. “The leaker is currently behind bars. I am proud to work alongside Secretary Hegseth on this effort. 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.”
Natanson wrote last month about her role covering federal workers under the Trump administration in an article titled, “I am The Post’s ‘federal government whisperer.’ It’s been brutal,” describing the strain of fielding thousands of messages from government employees and the impact on her personal and professional life.
Her recent reporting has included stories headlined “Inside the frantic global race to find an escape route for Maduro,” “Maduro raid killed about 75 in Venezuela, U.S. officials assess,” and “How Social Security has gotten worse under Trump.”
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