WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon contractor was indicted Thursday on charges that he illegally removed and shared classified national defense information with a journalist, a case that has drawn national attention after federal agents searched a reporter’s home as part of the investigation. Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones was charged with five counts of unlawfully transmitting and one count of unlawfully retaining classified national defense information, the Justice Department said Thursday. The case, which has been linked to last week’s search of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home in Virginia, has drawn scrutiny from press freedom advocates who say it reflects a more aggressive posture by the Justice Department toward leak investigations involving journalists. The reporter co-wrote and contributed to at least five articles that contained classified information provided by Perez-Lugones, authorities said. On Wednesday, the Washington Post asked for a court order requiring authorities to return electronic devices that they seized from reporter Natanson’s home last week.

Source: Washington Post January 23, 2026 17:34 UTC