Post Reports: "The FBI raid on our reporter's home"
Washington Post, January 15, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of Post Reports dives into the unprecedented FBI raid on Washington Post reporter Hannah Natenson’s home, conducted as part of a national security case involving a government contractor. Hosts Elahe Izadi and Colby Ikowicz discuss the raid’s implications for press freedom, government leak investigations, and the evolving landscape for journalists and their sources with democracy reporter Sarah Ellison. The episode concludes with a replay of a 2025 interview with Hannah Natenson about her work building trusted relationships with federal employee sources.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The FBI Raid: What Happened?

• Summary of Events

  • Early Wednesday morning, FBI agents raided Hannah Natenson’s Virginia home, seizing her personal and work devices, including a phone, two laptops, and a Garmin watch ([02:12]).
  • The search was part of an investigation into Aurelio Perez Lugones, a Maryland contractor accused of unlawfully taking classified documents home ([02:39]).

• Link to Ongoing Investigation

  • While neither Natenson nor the Washington Post are targets of the investigation, they have been swept up due to alleged contacts with the contractor, who was texting Natenson when apprehended ([03:18]).
  • The Post itself was subpoenaed for information about communications with the contractor ([03:18]).

Why Is This Different? Legal and Historical Context

• An Exceptional Step

  • Unlike common subpoenas, home raids against journalists are strikingly rare and aggressive, leaving little room for challenge before execution ([06:44], [07:00]).
    • Quote: “What's highly unusual and aggressive in this case is for law enforcement to come to someone's house and conduct a search of everything in their home.” – Sarah Ellison ([06:44])

• Legal Protections for Journalists

  • Privacy Protection Act (1980): Bars search warrants for journalists’ work material unless the journalist is suspected of a crime; exceptions are made for national security ([07:56]).
  • No law criminalizes a journalist for obtaining or publishing classified information, but prosecution of sources can rope in journalists ([09:23]).
  • Many protections are customary, not legal, making aggressive moves like this especially alarming to journalists.

• Recent Policy Shifts

  • Under the second Trump administration, Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a Biden-era policy protecting reporters from having their phone records searched during leak investigations ([11:16]).
    • Quote: “She said in an internal memo at the time that the media should not be afforded such protections. She said that this conduct is illegal and wrong and it must stop.” – Sarah Ellison ([11:16])

Reaction from Journalists & Concerns for Press Freedom

• Shock and Fear Among Journalists

  • Many described the raid as a “jarring escalation” ([00:59], [13:02]) and immediately started reviewing information security practices.
    • National security reporters, in particular, began employing new tactics (e.g., disabling phone facial recognition to avoid easy access by law enforcement) ([13:02]).

• Chilling Effect on Sources

  • The raid is likely to scare federal employees away from communicating with the press, with historical precedent suggesting sources are less willing to come forward after such events ([17:19]).
    • Quote: “...it really can send a massive chill through the federal workforce who’s concerned about being found out. Everyone thinks they know the risks of this kind of thing. What we heard from people was that it was inevitably something that was going to frighten federal employees and maybe was designed to do that.” – Sarah Ellison ([17:19])

How Natenson Became a "Federal Worker Whisperer"

• Building Trust with Federal Sources

  • Natenson recounts the exhausting, high-volume outreach she managed after publicizing her secure Signal number in federal worker Reddit forums ([21:31], [22:59]).
    • Quote: “Since late January, just on signal alone, not counting folks who have emailed me or called me on my cell phone, I have had 785 federal workers reach out to me.” – Hannah Natenson ([21:31])
  • She emphasized responding to every source, even just to listen, finding the work both intense and a public service ([22:59], [24:32]).
    • Quote: “There were a couple weeks and weekends where I would fall asleep at about 11pm trying to respond to people on Signal and then wake up at 6am and keep responding... I have a system to process the tips… But for a bit there, it was kind of crazy.” – Hannah Natenson ([22:59])

• Reddit as a Sourcing Tool

  • By sharing stories and contact info on Reddit’s large federal worker subforums, Natenson became a go-to contact for whistleblowers ([24:43]):
    • Quote: "I started this practice of posting my stories in there with gift links and my contact information again. And that has just built and built and built. And so I've had several posts go, like, very viral. And at this point, a lot of people just know who I am from Reddit." – Hannah Natenson ([24:43])

Security Risks and Broader Implications

• Security Risks Are Deeper Than Messenger Apps
  • Natenson argues the larger risk to government security comes from firing talented, often young federal workers who could become targets for foreign actors, rather than the use of secure messaging apps like Signal ([26:27]).
  • She also raises concerns about haphazard data-handling and dismissed offices creating new vulnerabilities ([27:08]).
    • Quote: "Anytime data is in transit, it becomes more accessible. ... But the Doge and the Trump administration attitude with everything is to move fast, fire people fast, don't care who they are, get rid of whole offices fast. It doesn't matter if you're getting rid of an office that was integral to our safety as a country." – Hannah Natenson ([27:08])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Unprecedented Nature of the Raid

  • “Raiding a reporter's home is a much more intrusive step that obviates the ability to challenge that raid in court before it happens. And according to our sources, it's exceedingly unusual, if not entirely unprecedented.” – Sarah Ellison ([07:00])

• On Sourcing and Burnout

  • "At times, it’s been as many as, like, a new person every three minutes." – Hannah Natenson ([22:59])

• On The Risks to Press Freedom

  • "This was a jarring new step towards blocking information that the government doesn't want to get out to the world." – Sarah Ellison ([13:02])

• On the Chilling Effect

  • "After that fact became public, people in the national security world wouldn't meet with his reporters. They were so concerned about their information being exposed." – Sarah Ellison, paraphrasing Ted Brightus ([17:19])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:12] – Sarah Ellison describes the raid on Natenson’s home and seizure of devices
• [03:18] – Discussion of the FBI warrant, connection to Perez Lugones, and The Post's subpoena
• [06:44] – How home raids on journalists differ from usual government investigations
• [07:56] – Legal protections for journalists and limitations of the Privacy Protection Act
• [11:16] – Changes in government policy under the Trump administration regarding journalist protections
• [13:02] – Journalists’ responses, security adjustments, and feelings after the raid
• [17:19] – Anticipated chilling effect on federal employee sources
• [21:31] – Natenson on the scale of whistleblower contacts and her sourcing process
• [24:43] – Natenson explains how Reddit became a key to her sourcing strategy
• [26:27] – Discussion on actual security risks, focusing on firings and data handling

Overall Tone

The episode is urgent and serious, underscoring the rarity and significance of the FBI’s actions. It highlights the anxiety within journalistic circles and federal workforces, while also demonstrating the resolve of reporters like Natenson, who see their roles as critical to democracy and public service.

Summary

This episode offers a detailed look at the escalating risks faced by investigative journalists in the US, the evolving tactics of federal law enforcement in leak investigations, and the chilling implications for both press freedom and whistleblower confidence. Through expert interviews and first-hand accounts, listeners gain insight into the precarious conditions under which major reporting on government functions now takes place.