The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, U.S., March 3, 2022, more than a week after Russia invaded Ukraine. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
(Washington, DC) – President Trump has announced in a press conference on Wednesday that the Pentagon Leaker has been tracked down. and arrested. FBI agents searched the Virginia home of Hannah Natanson, a reporter for The Washington Post, as part of a classified documents investigation tied to a Pentagon contractor, the Justice Department confirmed Wednesday.
Agents seized Natanson’s phone, two laptops, and a smartwatch. The Post said neither Natanson nor the newspaper is a target of the investigation, but called the search an alarming escalation that raises serious First Amendment concerns.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the search was conducted at the request of the Defense Department and alleged the reporter had obtained and reported on “classified and illegally leaked information.” The White House echoed the stance, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the Trump administration has “zero tolerance” for leaks.
Who Was the Leaker?
The alleged leaker is Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system engineer and IT specialist for a government contractor in Maryland. Perez-Lugones, who held a top-secret clearance, was arrested and charged earlier this month with unlawful retention of national defense information. Court documents say investigators found materials marked “SECRET” at his home and in his vehicle, including one document stored in a lunchbox.
Perez-Lugones has not been charged with sharing classified information, and court filings do not accuse him of leaking to the media. He is scheduled to appear in court for a detention hearing.
Why It Matters
Press freedom groups warned the search could chill investigative journalism. The move follows new DOJ guidelines reinstated under Bondi that allow subpoenas and search warrants in leak investigations—reversing protections put in place during the Biden administration.
President Donald Trump announced that the leaker had been arrested, underscoring the administration’s aggressive posture toward classified disclosures as the investigation continues.
