Federal authorities have confirmed that the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson was searched by FBI agents as part of a broad and intensifying national security investigation focused on the alleged illegal disclosure of classified U.S. military intelligence. FBI Director Kash Patel publicly acknowledged the raid, stating that investigators had identified evidence suggesting a journalist had been receiving and publishing sensitive information supplied by a government contractor with access to Pentagon-linked systems. According to Patel, the materials in question involved classified military data, and their exposure may have jeopardized U.S. operations overseas and placed American service members at risk. He emphasized that the action followed the arrest of the alleged source of the leak earlier in the week and described the search as a necessary step in an ongoing inquiry. Patel declined to provide additional details, citing the active nature of the investigation, but framed the case as one involving serious national security implications rather than a routine dispute over press freedoms.
The search took place early Tuesday morning at Natanson’s residence in Alexandria, Virginia, where agents reportedly seized two laptop computers—one belonging to Natanson personally and another issued by her employer—along with her mobile phone and a smartwatch. A man who answered the door during the operation offered no substantive comment beyond stating that he could not speak about the matter. Natanson is known for her reporting on the federal workforce and civil service, and she has authored numerous stories scrutinizing the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize federal agencies and restructure the bureaucracy. In recent months, she had publicly characterized herself as having deep insight into internal government dynamics. The Washington Post later confirmed that the search and seizure had occurred, saying it was seeking clarification from federal officials and expressing concern about law enforcement actions directed at journalists in connection with their reporting.
Attorney General Pam Bondi also addressed the raid in a statement released Wednesday evening, reinforcing the administration’s position that the case represents a significant breach of national security. Bondi said the Department of Justice and the FBI acted at the request of the Department of War after determining that a journalist had obtained and disseminated classified information that had been unlawfully leaked by a Pentagon contractor. She characterized the disclosures as illegal and dangerous, arguing that they posed a substantial threat to U.S. national security and the safety of military personnel. Bondi stressed that the administration would not tolerate the unauthorized handling or publication of classified material and framed the investigation as part of a broader effort to protect sensitive defense information from internal compromise.
Officials familiar with the case have described the raid as one element of a coordinated campaign aimed at dismantling what investigators believe to be an insider network responsible for removing sensitive defense data from secure Pentagon systems and passing it to members of the press. At the center of the investigation is Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a 41-year-old systems administrator based in Maryland who held top-secret security clearance while working for a government subcontractor in Annapolis Junction, an area closely associated with U.S. defense and intelligence operations. Authorities allege that Perez-Lugones exploited his authorized access to restricted databases to view and collect classified intelligence related to a foreign nation, later removing that information from secure environments in violation of federal law.
According to a criminal complaint filed earlier this month, Perez-Lugones accessed classified materials in October 2025 and either printed or photographed them without authorization. Investigators say he later returned to classified systems in early January, reviewing additional sensitive information and taking handwritten notes that he brought back to his home. When FBI agents searched his residence in Laurel, Maryland, on January 8, they reportedly discovered multiple documents clearly marked “SECRET,” some of which were directly related to national defense matters. The affidavit submitted by FBI Special Agent Keith Starr stated that these documents constituted protected information whose unauthorized possession alone represented a serious legal and security violation. Perez-Lugones has since been charged with unlawful retention of national defense information, a felony offense carrying a potential sentence of up to ten years in federal prison.
Federal prosecutors have argued that Perez-Lugones should remain in custody while awaiting trial, asserting that his knowledge of classified systems and materials poses an ongoing risk that cannot be fully mitigated through standard restrictions. In court filings, they emphasized that while investigators were able to seize physical documents and devices, they cannot erase classified knowledge already retained in a defendant’s memory. Prosecutors contended that detention is the only effective way to monitor and limit the possibility that such information could be misused or disclosed further. U.S. District Judge George Levi Russell III is expected to rule on whether Perez-Lugones will remain jailed pending trial, while his defense team has so far declined to comment publicly. The Washington Post, meanwhile, has reiterated its concern about the implications of the raid for press freedom, even as the case has come to be viewed as one of the most aggressive leak investigations in recent years, signaling a hardline approach by the Trump administration’s Justice Department toward the handling of classified information.
