WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Federal authorities are barred from conducting an 鈥渦nsupervised, wholesale search鈥� of electronic devices that they seized from a while investigating allegations that a Pentagon contractor to the journalist, a magistrate judge .
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 鈥渇ilter team鈥� to perform a search. Porter said he balanced the need to protect Natanson’s free speech rights with the government’s duty to safeguard top secret national security information.
鈥淭he Court finds that seizing the totality of a reporter鈥檚 electronic work product, including tools essential to ongoing newsgathering, constitutes a restraint on the exercise of First Amendment rights,鈥� he wrote.
The case has drawn national attention and scrutiny from press freedom advocates who say it reflects a more aggressive posture by the Justice Department toward leak investigations involving journalists.
Federal agents seized a phone, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive and a Garmin smart watch when they searched Natanson鈥檚 home in Alexandria, Virginia, on Jan. 14. Last month, Porter agreed to temporarily bar the government from reviewing any material from Natanson鈥檚 devices. Tuesday’s order extends that prohibition.
鈥淭he Court鈥檚 genuine hope is that this search was conducted 鈥� as the government contends 鈥� to gather evidence of a crime in a single case, not to collect information about confidential sources from a reporter who has published articles critical of the administration,鈥� he wrote.
The Post sought an order requiring the government to immediately return the devices to its reporter, but Porter denied that request. He said it is reasonable for the government to keep nothing more than the 鈥渓imited information鈥� responsive to the search warrant. The rest of the contents must be returned to Natanson, he ruled.
Allowing the government to search a reporter鈥檚 work material, including unrelated information from confidential sources, 鈥渋s the equivalent of leaving the government鈥檚 fox in charge of the Washington Post鈥檚 henhouse,鈥� Porter wrote.
Pentagon contractor Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones was arrested on Jan. 8 and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents. Perez-Lugones is accused of taking home printouts of classified documents from his workplace and later passing them to Natanson.
The newspaper鈥檚 attorneys of violating legal safeguards for journalists and trampling on Natanson鈥檚 First Amendment rights.
Justice Department attorneys that the government is entitled to keep the seized material because it contains evidence in an ongoing investigation with national security implications.
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.
Natanson has been covering Republican President Donald Trump鈥檚 . The Post in which she described gaining hundreds of new sources from the federal workforce, leading one colleague to call her 鈥渢he federal government whisperer.鈥�
The Post says the seized material spanned years of Natanson鈥檚 reporting across hundreds of stories, including communications with confidential sources.
The Justice Department has internal guidelines governing its response to . Last April, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued new guidelines restoring prosecutors鈥� authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make 鈥渦nauthorized disclosures鈥� to journalists.
The new guidelines rescinded a policy from Democratic President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations.
Perez-Lugones, 61, of Laurel, Maryland, has remained jailed since his arrest. He held a top-secret security clearance while working as a systems engineer and information technology specialist for a government contractor.
Investigators found phone messages between Perez-Lugones and the reporter in which they discussed the information that he provided, authorities said. 鈥淚鈥檓 going quiet for a bit … just to see if anyone starts asking questions,鈥� Perez-Lugones wrote after sending one of the documents, according to the government.
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