WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities are barred from conducting an “unsupervised, wholesale search” of electronic devices that they seized from a Washington Post reporter’s Virginia home while investigating allegations that a Pentagon contractor illegally leaked classified information to the journalist, a magistrate judge ruled Feb. 24. U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter said he will independently review the contents of Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s devices instead of allowing a Justice Department “filter team” to perform a search. The Post sought an order requiring the government to immediately return the devices to its reporter, but Porter denied that request. The FBI began investigating after the Post on Oct. 31 published an article containing classified information from an intelligence report, according to the government. The Post reporter co-wrote and contributed to at least five articles that contained classified information provided by Perez-Lugones, authorities said.

Source: Washington Post February 26, 2026 02:29 UTC