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Judge Bars 'Unsupervised, Wholesale Search' of Reporter's Devices Seized by FBI

Is the FBI raid on a reporter's home a press freedom violation or a necessary national security investigation?

Published 23 hours ago

Judge Bars 'Unsupervised, Wholesale Search' of Reporter's Devices Seized by FBI

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Above: A local D.C. resident who reads the Washington Post at a rally outside the Washington Post office building on Feb. 5 in Washington, D.C. Image credit: Heather Diehl/Getty Images

The Spin

Left narrative

The FBI's raid on a Washington Post reporter's home represents an alarming assault on press freedom that violates the Privacy Protection Act and the DOJ's own guidelines. Seizing devices containing communications with over a thousand federal sources goes far beyond investigating one contractor and looks like a fishing expedition to expose confidential sources. Even if the reporter followed security protocols, the government now possesses volumes of journalist communications having nothing to do with any investigation.

Freedom Press Columbia Journalism Review

Right narrative

The FBI raided the reporter's home because she communicated with a Pentagon contractor accused of storing classified documents in his lunch box and basement, not because she's a journalist. Investigators need to determine what classified material he sent, what she received and how far national-defense information traveled. The administration won't tolerate leaks that put national security at risk.

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