Washington
FBI searches home of Washington Post reporter in classified documents probe, newspaper says
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI agents searched a Washington Post reporter’s home on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of taking home government secrets, the newspaper reported.
The FBI searched journalist Hannah Natanson’s devices and seized a phone and a Garmin watch at her Virginia home, the Post said. Natanson covers the Trump administration’s transformation of the federal government and recently published a piece describing how she gained hundreds of new sources, leading a colleague to call her “the federal government whisperer.”
While classified documents investigations aren’t unusual, the search of a reporter’s home marks an escalation in the government’s efforts to crack down on leaks.
An affidavit says the search was related to an investigation into a system administrator in Maryland who authorities allege took home classified reports, the newspaper reported. The system administrator, Aurelio Perez-Lugones, was charged earlier this month with unlawful retention of national defense information, according to court papers.
Perez-Lugones, who held a top secret security clearance, is accused of printing classified and sensitive reports at work. In a search of his Maryland home and car this month, authorities found documents marked “SECRET,” including one in a lunchbox, according to court papers.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday. Justice Department officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Washington Post said Wednesday that it was monitoring and reviewing the situation. An email seeking comment was sent to lawyers for Perez-Lugones.
The Justice Department over the years has developed, and revised, internal guidelines governing how it will respond to news media leaks.
In April, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued new guidelines saying prosecutors would again have the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists.
The moves rescinded a Biden administration policy that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.
Ohio
A suspect in the vandalism of JD Vance’s home must stay in jail until trial
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a suspect in the vandalism of Vice President JD Vance’s home in Ohio must remain behind bars while awaiting trial.
The decision by Chief Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman means that William D. DeFoor, 26, of Cincinnati, will remain in the Hamilton County jail for now. A preliminary hearing in the case was set for Jan. 20 in the federal district court in Cincinnati.
DeFoor faces federal charges of damaging government property, engaging in physical violence against property in a restricted area and assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.
The first two charges are each punishable by up to 10 years in prison, while assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Shortly after midnight on Jan. 5, Secret Service officers assigned to Vance’s home in Cincinnati’s upscale East Walnut Hills neighborhood saw someone run along the front fence and breach the property line.
The person later identified as DeFoor was armed with a hammer and tried to break out the window of an unmarked Secret Service vehicle on the way up to the driveway before breaking windows in the front of the home and damaging a security system.
The Vances were not home at the time.
DeFoor’s defense attorney, Paul Laufman, has said this is “purely a mental health issue” and not motivated by politics.
Washington
DOJ accuses judge of abusing power in questioning prosecutor’s authority
WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department officials on Tuesday accused a federal judge of abusing his power in demanding that Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan explain why she continues to identify herself as a U.S. Attorney in Virginia despite another judge’s ruling that she was illegally appointed.
Halligan secured charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James at President Donald Trump’s urging before U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie decided in November that both cases must be dismissed due to Halligan’s invalid appointment.
Last Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David Novak in Richmond, Virginia, ordered Halligan to explain in writing why it isn’t false or misleading for her to continue identifying herself as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after Currie’s ruling.
In a strongly worded response co-signed by Halligan, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, they argued that nothing in Currie’s order prohibits Halligan from acting as U.S. Attorney or using that title.
“The bottom line is that Ms. Halligan has not ‘misrepresented’ anything and the Court is flat wrong to suggest that any change to the Government’s signature block is warranted in this or any other case,” they wrote.
Novak, who was nominated to the bench by Trump during his first term in the White House, is a former federal prosecutor. He overlapped for a time in the Eastern District of Virginia with Comey, who was previously a supervisor in that office.
Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience, was Trump’s pick to lead one of the Justice Department’s most important offices. She replaced Erik Siebert, a veteran prosecutor who resigned in September as interim U.S. Attorney amid Trump administration pressure to file charges against both Comey and James.
A grand jury indicted Comey three days after Bondi swore in Halligan. James was charged two weeks later.
In an unrelated criminal case, Novak questioned why he shouldn’t strike Halligan’s name from the indictment. He cited court rules that make it professional misconduct for attorneys to make false or misleading statements.
In their response, the Justice Department officials said Novak’s “fixation on a signature block title is untethered from how federal courts actually operate.”
“The Court’s thinly veiled threat to use attorney discipline to cudgel the Executive Branch into conforming its legal position in all criminal prosecutions to the views of a single district judge is a gross abuse of power and an affront to the separation of powers,” they wrote.
FBI searches home of Washington Post reporter in classified documents probe, newspaper says
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI agents searched a Washington Post reporter’s home on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of taking home government secrets, the newspaper reported.
The FBI searched journalist Hannah Natanson’s devices and seized a phone and a Garmin watch at her Virginia home, the Post said. Natanson covers the Trump administration’s transformation of the federal government and recently published a piece describing how she gained hundreds of new sources, leading a colleague to call her “the federal government whisperer.”
While classified documents investigations aren’t unusual, the search of a reporter’s home marks an escalation in the government’s efforts to crack down on leaks.
An affidavit says the search was related to an investigation into a system administrator in Maryland who authorities allege took home classified reports, the newspaper reported. The system administrator, Aurelio Perez-Lugones, was charged earlier this month with unlawful retention of national defense information, according to court papers.
Perez-Lugones, who held a top secret security clearance, is accused of printing classified and sensitive reports at work. In a search of his Maryland home and car this month, authorities found documents marked “SECRET,” including one in a lunchbox, according to court papers.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday. Justice Department officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Washington Post said Wednesday that it was monitoring and reviewing the situation. An email seeking comment was sent to lawyers for Perez-Lugones.
The Justice Department over the years has developed, and revised, internal guidelines governing how it will respond to news media leaks.
In April, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued new guidelines saying prosecutors would again have the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists.
The moves rescinded a Biden administration policy that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.
Ohio
A suspect in the vandalism of JD Vance’s home must stay in jail until trial
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a suspect in the vandalism of Vice President JD Vance’s home in Ohio must remain behind bars while awaiting trial.
The decision by Chief Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman means that William D. DeFoor, 26, of Cincinnati, will remain in the Hamilton County jail for now. A preliminary hearing in the case was set for Jan. 20 in the federal district court in Cincinnati.
DeFoor faces federal charges of damaging government property, engaging in physical violence against property in a restricted area and assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.
The first two charges are each punishable by up to 10 years in prison, while assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Shortly after midnight on Jan. 5, Secret Service officers assigned to Vance’s home in Cincinnati’s upscale East Walnut Hills neighborhood saw someone run along the front fence and breach the property line.
The person later identified as DeFoor was armed with a hammer and tried to break out the window of an unmarked Secret Service vehicle on the way up to the driveway before breaking windows in the front of the home and damaging a security system.
The Vances were not home at the time.
DeFoor’s defense attorney, Paul Laufman, has said this is “purely a mental health issue” and not motivated by politics.
Washington
DOJ accuses judge of abusing power in questioning prosecutor’s authority
WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department officials on Tuesday accused a federal judge of abusing his power in demanding that Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan explain why she continues to identify herself as a U.S. Attorney in Virginia despite another judge’s ruling that she was illegally appointed.
Halligan secured charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James at President Donald Trump’s urging before U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie decided in November that both cases must be dismissed due to Halligan’s invalid appointment.
Last Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David Novak in Richmond, Virginia, ordered Halligan to explain in writing why it isn’t false or misleading for her to continue identifying herself as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after Currie’s ruling.
In a strongly worded response co-signed by Halligan, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, they argued that nothing in Currie’s order prohibits Halligan from acting as U.S. Attorney or using that title.
“The bottom line is that Ms. Halligan has not ‘misrepresented’ anything and the Court is flat wrong to suggest that any change to the Government’s signature block is warranted in this or any other case,” they wrote.
Novak, who was nominated to the bench by Trump during his first term in the White House, is a former federal prosecutor. He overlapped for a time in the Eastern District of Virginia with Comey, who was previously a supervisor in that office.
Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience, was Trump’s pick to lead one of the Justice Department’s most important offices. She replaced Erik Siebert, a veteran prosecutor who resigned in September as interim U.S. Attorney amid Trump administration pressure to file charges against both Comey and James.
A grand jury indicted Comey three days after Bondi swore in Halligan. James was charged two weeks later.
In an unrelated criminal case, Novak questioned why he shouldn’t strike Halligan’s name from the indictment. He cited court rules that make it professional misconduct for attorneys to make false or misleading statements.
In their response, the Justice Department officials said Novak’s “fixation on a signature block title is untethered from how federal courts actually operate.”
“The Court’s thinly veiled threat to use attorney discipline to cudgel the Executive Branch into conforming its legal position in all criminal prosecutions to the views of a single district judge is a gross abuse of power and an affront to the separation of powers,” they wrote.
