Federal agents have searched the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson as part of a widening probe into an alleged Pentagon leaker tied to highly sensitive military intelligence.
According to The Post Millennial, Natanson was present as federal authorities executed the warrant, seizing her phone and smartwatch while pursuing evidence connected to Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Maryland-based systems engineer with long-standing access to top secret material. The warrant identifies Perez-Lugones as a government contractor accused of improperly accessing classified intelligence reports, removing them from secure systems, and allegedly storing them in his lunchbox and in his basement.
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 Americas national security, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X. The alleged leaker was arrested this week and is in custody. As this is an ongoing investigation, we will have no further comment.
Perez-Lugones, who has reportedly worked as a government contractor since 2002, is said to have used his trusted position to exploit government databases and repositories for material related to a foreign country. According to a criminal complaint, he allegedly captured screenshots of classified documents, printed them, and removed at least one secret national defense document later found in his basement.
Attorney General Pam Bondi underscored the gravity of the case, writing on X, 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. The leaker is currently behind bars.
Bondi framed the operation as a necessary step to protect the country from internal security breaches that are too often laundered through sympathetic media outlets.
The Trump Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nations national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country, Bondi added. The case highlights a long-standing concern on the right that powerful media institutions, rather than acting as neutral watchdogs, frequently serve as conduits for unlawful disclosures that undermine U.S. security and the very warfighters they claim to champion.
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