F.B.I. agents searched the home of a Washington Post reporter on Wednesday as part of a leak investigation, a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s tactics in seeking information from the news media.
It is exceedingly rare, even in investigations of classified disclosures, for federal agents to search a reporter’s home. A 1980 law called the Privacy Protection Act generally bars search warrants for reporters’ work materials unless the reporters themselves are suspected of committing a crime related to the materials.
The reporter, Hannah Natanson, has spent the past year covering the Trump administration’s effort to fire federal workers and to redirect much of the work force toward enforcing his agenda. Many of those employees shared with her their anger, frustration and fear with the administration’s changes.
A spokesperson for The Washington Post said on Wednesday that the publication was reviewing and monitoring the situation. The law enforcement agents seized laptops, a phone and a smartwatch during their search.