A US judge has temporarily blocked federal prosecutors from reviewing material seized during an FBI raid on the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson. Magistrate Judge William Porter issued the order on Wednesday, directing prosecutors not to examine the information until at least early February, when a hearing will be held on the newspaper's request for the return of the devices.
The Post had earlier asked a federal court in Virginia to force the government to return electronics taken from Natanson's home last week. The devices, including two laptops, two phones and a Garmin watch, were seized as part of an investigation into a government contractor's alleged retention of classified materials. The newspaper described the seizure as an 'outrageous' violation of constitutional rights that chills speech and cripples reporting.
The seizure relates to Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a government contractor currently in federal custody in Maryland, charged with unlawfully retaining national defence information. Press freedom groups decried the raid as unprecedented. Bruce D Brown of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said it was the first time in US history that a reporter's home had been searched in a national security media leak investigation, warning of a profound threat to the First Amendment.
The Post argued that the seized devices contain years of confidential source information and that very little relates to the warrant. Natanson has been unable to communicate with sources or publish stories since the raid. Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the operation, stating it concerned classified material that could jeopardise lives, not press freedom.
