When the FBI executes a home search warrant on a working reporter to pursue a leak case, the practical effect is source-chilling, even if the reporter “isn’t the target.”

I’m not claiming leaks don’t matter or that classified material should float around freely. I’m saying this escalation (searching a reporter’s home + seizing devices) is a different category than “investigate the contractor.”

Here’s what happened: on Wednesday morning, January 14, 2026, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s Virginia home, and seized her phone, two laptops (including a Post-issued machine), and a Garmin watch. Investigators told her she is not the focus. The focus, per the warrant/affidavit described in reporting, is Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Maryland system administrator with a top secret clearance, accused of taking classified intelligence home, with documents allegedly found in his lunchbox and basement.

Now zoom out from the “leak” label and look at the mechanism:

• A reporter’s home becomes a search scene. That’s not “ask questions.” That’s state power touching newsgathering.
• Devices get scooped. The cost isn’t only to the journalist. It's to every would-be source watching.
• The policy climate matters. In 2025, DOJ moved back toward allowing subpoenas/court orders/search warrants for journalists’ records in leak probes (with stated guardrails). This raid lands inside that shift.

If the goal is protecting secrets, focus on internal controls + contractor accountability, not turning reporting into a searchable crime scene.

What’s the limiting principle here. What would make it clearly out-of-bounds to search a reporter’s home?

SourcesSources

Washington Post – FBI executes search warrant at WaPo reporter’s home (Natanson) (Jan 14, 2026)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/14/washington-post-reporter-search/

AP – FBI searched WaPo reporter’s home in classified-documents probe (Jan 14, 2026)
https://apnews.com/article/373bd02f4f9ea446dd71c1203da467f3

Reuters – DOJ reversal: media records can be seized in leak probes (Apr 26, 2025)
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/reversal-us-justice-department-says-media-records-can-be-seized-leak-probes-2025-04-26/

AP – DOJ says it will resume obtaining reporters’ records in leak inquiries (Apr 2025)
https://apnews.com/article/0d5745648eb935a89af1529e08536b9d

WaPo – Garland-era rules restricting leak investigations touching reporters (Oct 26, 2022)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/10/26/garland-reporter-leak-investigations/