Washington Post subpoenaed as part of DOJ leak investigation

The Washington Post was issued a subpoena in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14, 2026, in connection with an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified materials.

FBI agents executed a search warrant on the home of Post reporter Hannah Natanson that morning, seizing her phone, watch and two laptops — one of which was issued by the newsroom.

The Post reported that the subpoena demanded that it turn over “any communications between the contractor and other employees.”

According to the newspaper, investigators have identified the focus of the probe as Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a systems administrator in Maryland with top-secret security clearance. He was arrested Jan. 8 and charged with unlawful retention of national defense information after agents found classified materials in his vehicle and home. Perez-Lugones has not been charged with disseminating the materials.

In April 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi reversed the Biden-era policies that protected journalists from having their records seized or from being forced to testify in connection with leak investigations. She asserted, however, that such measures would only be used as a last resort.

Yet the first interactions the Post and Natanson had with investigators were the subpoena, search warrant and device seizures, according to the newspaper.

In a statement posted to social media, Bondi alleged that Natanson was “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.”

“The leaker is currently behind bars,” Bondi continued. “The Trump Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a note to the Post’s staff that evening, Executive Editor Matt Murray called the FBI’s actions “provocative and aggressive” and said the outlet was “continuing to vigorously defend our journalists and our work.”

“It is worth reflecting again on the importance and responsibilities of the work we do as journalists, protected by the constitutional speech rights that all Americans enjoy, and the urgency of exercising those rights by continuing to do our work,” he wrote. “That is the best thing the staff of The Washington Post can do, is in fact what we do.”