Federal Judge Prevents DOJ from Searching Reporter’s Devices

(MENAFN) A US federal judge has prohibited the Justice Department from reviewing electronic devices seized from a Washington Post reporter, ruling that the court itself must first conduct the review in a national security investigation, according to reports.

Magistrate Judge William Porter issued the decision Tuesday, emphasizing that an unrestricted search could infringe upon the First Amendment rights of reporter Hannah Natanson. "The court will conduct the review itself," Porter wrote.

FBI agents raided Natanson’s home on January 14 as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally keeping classified documents. During the raid, authorities confiscated her phone, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive, and a Garmin watch.

Natanson has reported that federal employees dismissed during previous cost-cutting measures at a government efficiency department developed nearly 1,200 confidential sources across 120 agencies.

Following the raid, the Washington Post requested that the court order the return of the seized devices. Porter directed the government not to examine them until a hearing is held.

In his ruling, Porter criticized the Justice Department for not addressing or analyzing the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, a law safeguarding journalists’ work materials from government searches. "This omission has seriously undermined the court's confidence in the government's disclosures in this proceeding," he wrote.

Porter acknowledged the potential presence of classified information among the seized items but stressed: "An appropriate search process must account for the need to identify and protect classified information before any materials are returned. But that does not mean that in all cases the government gets to conduct that search."

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