A federal magistrate has issued a temporary order preventing prosecutors from examining materials seized by the FBI from the home of a Washington Post journalist. The order, issued by Magistrate Judge William Porter, will remain in effect at least until a scheduled hearing in early February, preserving the current situation until the Department of Justice can formally respond to the newspaper’s legal challenge.
The legal action stems from a search executed last week at the residence of reporter Hannah Natanson. Federal agents confiscated multiple electronic devices, including laptops, phones, and a smartwatch. The search was reportedly conducted as part of an investigation into a government contractor’s alleged mishandling of classified materials.
In response, the newspaper filed an urgent motion in U.S. District Court, demanding the immediate return of all seized property. The filing argues that the devices contain years of confidential source information and unpublished reporting materials, the vast majority of which are unrelated to the specific warrant. The Post contends that the seizure has crippled the reporter’s ability to work and has irreparably damaged her relationships with confidential sources, who are now unlikely to communicate with her.
“The government’s actions represent an unprecedented intrusion into newsgathering,” the newspaper’s legal team stated. “Allowing this seizure to stand would license future raids on newsrooms and normalize censorship through search warrants.”
Press freedom organizations have condemned the action as a severe threat to constitutional protections. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press noted this appears to be the first instance in U.S. history where a reporter’s home has been searched in a national security leak investigation. The group has called for all court records related to the search warrant to be made public.
“The government’s move imperils public interest reporting and will have chilling effects far beyond this single case,” said Bruce D. Brown, president of the committee. “It is critical that the court prevent any review of this material until it can address the profound threat to the First Amendment.”
While the Justice Department has defended the search as necessary to recover classified information that could jeopardize national security, the court’s temporary order halts any government examination of the seized data pending further legal review. The outcome of the upcoming hearing could set a significant precedent regarding the limits of law enforcement authority when it intersects with journalistic work.