The FBI executed a search warrant on Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home on Wednesday as part of a probe into “a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials,” the paper announced.
Natanson was at her Virginia home at the time of the search and a warrant said “law enforcement was investigating Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator in Maryland who has a top secret security clearance and has been accused of accessing and taking home classified intelligence reports that were found in his lunchbox and his basement,” the Post reported, citing an FBI affidavit.
Natanson covers “the Trump administration’s reshaping of the government and its effects,” according to her X bio. Her home and devices were searched.
Perez-Lugones is an American citizen who was born in Miami and now resides in Laurel, Maryland, according to a criminal complaint. He has been a government contractor since 2002 and possesses top secret security clearance.
Perez-Lugones’ current role is “administrative,” according to the complaint. He works as a systems engineer and information technology specialist for a government contracting company whose primary customer is a government agency. His workplace is in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, according to the complaint.
Perez-Lugones is accused of using databases and repositories to search for, access and view a classified intelligence report related to a foreign country. He is accused of taking a screenshot of the report and printing it.
The complaint states that at least one document marked “secret” that was found in Perez-Lugones’ basement was related to national defense.
The Washington Post reported Natanson has been part of its most sensitive coverage of the first year of the second Trump administration.
Natanson told her employer that a phone and Garmin watch were seized.
The Washington Post told Fox News Digital that it is “reviewing and monitoring the situation.”
This is a developing story, more to come…