Federal prosecutors have announced the indictment of a Pentagon contractor on serious charges related to the illegal handling and dissemination of classified national defence information. This development follows a high-profile federal search at the home of a Washington Post reporter, an action that has ignited intense debate about press freedoms and government overreach in leak investigations.
Charges and Allegations Against Contractor
Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, a 61-year-old resident of Laurel, Maryland, has been indicted on five counts of unlawfully transmitting classified information and one count of unlawfully retaining such material. The Justice Department revealed these charges on Thursday, linking them directly to last week's search of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's Virginia residence.
According to FBI Director Kash Patel, Perez-Lugones is accused of removing printed classified documents from his workplace and subsequently providing them to a journalist. The Justice Department's news release indicates the reporter co-authored and contributed to at least five articles containing the classified information supplied by Perez-Lugones.
Evidence and Investigation Details
Investigators discovered phone messages between Perez-Lugones and the reporter discussing the shared information. In one exchange, Perez-Lugones stated, "I'm going quiet for a bit ... just to see if anyone starts asking questions," after transmitting one of the documents.
Perez-Lugones, who held a top secret security clearance, worked as a systems engineer and information technology specialist for a government contractor. An FBI affidavit alleges that in October, he captured a screenshot of a classified intelligence report concerning an unspecified foreign country, pasted it into a Microsoft Word document, and printed it out.
During searches of his home and vehicle this month, authorities recovered documents marked "SECRET," including one found in a lunchbox. Perez-Lugones has remained in custody since his arrest on January 8.
Washington Post's Legal Challenge
The Washington Post has taken legal action in response to the search of reporter Hannah Natanson's home. On Wednesday, the newspaper petitioned for a court order requiring authorities to return electronic devices seized during the operation.
Federal agents confiscated a phone, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive, and a Garmin smartwatch from Natanson's residence. A federal magistrate judge in Alexandria, Virginia, has temporarily prohibited the government from examining any material from these devices and scheduled a February 6 hearing to address the newspaper's request.
In a strongly worded statement, The Washington Post declared, "The outrageous seizure of our reporter's confidential newsgathering materials chills speech, cripples reporting, and inflicts irreparable harm every day the government keeps its hands on these materials."
Press Freedom Concerns and National Security Implications
This case has drawn significant scrutiny from press freedom advocates nationwide, who argue it reflects an increasingly aggressive approach by the Justice Department toward leak investigations involving journalists. These concerns have sparked broader discussions about the future of journalistic protections in the United States.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi emphasized the gravity of the alleged offences, stating, "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."
Hannah Natanson has been covering Republican President Donald Trump's transformation of the federal government. The Post recently published an article in which she described acquiring hundreds of new sources from the federal workforce, earning her the nickname "the federal government whisperer" from a colleague.
The indictment itself has not been made publicly available, and the Justice Department's news release does not identify the reporter or their employer by name. Attorneys representing Perez-Lugones have not responded to requests for comment regarding the charges.
