The Department of Justice on Thursday accused a Pentagon contractor of leaking classified information to Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, more than a week after the FBI searched the reporter’s home and seized her devices.
The DOJ said it charged Aurelio Perez-Lugones with five counts of unlawfully transmitting classified national security information and one count of unlawfully retaining classified information in the case, weeks after officials accused him of unlawfully retaining national security documents. The department’s investigation led to an early-morning search of Natanson’s Virginia home last week, which has drawn scrutiny for the aggressive tactic against a reporter in a leak investigation.
Officials accused Perez-Lugones of leaking two documents that contained classified information to “Reporter 1.” He then allegedly texted the reporter and said, “I’m going quiet for a bit … just to see if anyone starts asking questions.” He faces 10 years in prison if he’s convicted.
The Post did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“Illegally disclosing classified defense information is a grave crime against America that puts both our national security and the lives of our military heroes at risk,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
“Perez-Lugones allegedly printed and removed classified documents from his workplace on multiple occasions, took them home, and later passed them to a reporter who used the information in news articles,” FBI director Kash Patel added. “Protecting our country’s secrets is essential to the safety of our most sensitive intelligence, military, and law enforcement operations.”
The Washington Post has called the search “outrageous” and said the seizure of Natanson’s devices “chills speech, cripples reporting and inflicts irreparable harm every day the government keeps its hands on these materials.”
The publication asked a court earlier this week to order the government to return Natanson’s devices, and a magistrate judge in Washington blocked the government from searching them until the court issues were resolved. Oral arguments are set for Feb. 6.
Natanson, who covers the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the federal workforce, issued her first public statement on the matter this week with a quote of hers from a Post story detailing the paper’s court efforts: “I need my devices back to do my job.”
