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Re: Contractor indicted over alleged leaks to Washington Post

Cross-posted to 6 groups.

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Democrat Employment Interruptus <dei@fired.com> wrote:
> A government contractor whose handling of classified information triggered 
> a court-authorized search of a Washington Post reporter’s home was charged 
> Thursday by a federal grand jury in Maryland with six felony violations of 
> the Espionage Act, the Justice Department said.
> 
> Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, 61, was indicted on five counts of unlawfully 
> transmitting and one count of unlawfully retaining national defense 
> information, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Maryland announced.
> 
> While the announcement did not name the journalist Perez-Lugones allegedly 
> sent classified information to, DOJ officials said the charges stemmed 
> from his sharing of national security secrets with Washington Post 
> reporter Hannah Natanson.
> 
> The federal investigation of Perez-Lugones swept in Natanson last week 
> when the FBI searched her Alexandria, Virginia, home and seized several 
> electronic devices in a bid to unearth evidence of her contact with the 
> information technology contractor and Navy veteran.
> 
> That search drew criticism from First Amendment and press freedom 
> advocates for departing from the usual practice of subpoenaing records 
> from the media instead of seizing them. It also raised questions about 
> whether DOJ complied with a 1980 law that sharply restricts the use of 
> search warrants for records related to newsgathering.
> 
> On Wednesday, a magistrate judge in Alexandria ordered investigators to 
> halt any review of Natanson’s devices until the court rules on a request 
> from her and the Post to return them. A hearing on the matter is slated 
> for early February.
> 
> The text of the indictment against Perez-Lugones was not immediately 
> available Thursday, but the DOJ announcement alleged that, between October 
> and January, he “repeatedly accessed classified reports, printed or copied 
> the information in these classified reports, and then removed this 
> classified information from the sensitive compartmented information 
> facility (SCIF) where he worked.”
> 
> “Perez-Lugones transmitted the classified national defense information to 
> a reporter … who was not authorized to receive it. In turn, [the reporter] 
> co-authored and contributed to at least five articles that contained 
> classified information Perez-Lugones provided, resulting in the 
> dissemination of the information to the public,” the DOJ statement said.
> 
> Natanson is not charged with any offense.
> 
> DOJ claims that on Jan. 8, the day FBI agents searched Perez-Lugones’ 
> Laurel, Maryland, home, he wrote to Natanson on an encrypted app: “I’m 
> going quiet for a bit ... just to see if anyone starts asking questions.”
> 
> Perez-Lugones could face a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison if 
> convicted on all charges, but defendants in federal criminal cases are 
> usually sentenced under guidelines that typically call for shorter 
> sentences. Last week, a magistrate judge ordered Perez-Lugones released 
> pending trial, but prosecutors appealed that ruling and he and his 
> attorneys later withdrew his request for release, at least for now.
> 
> “Illegally disclosing classified defense information is a grave crime 
> against America that puts both our national security and the lives of our 
> military heroes at risk,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. 
> “This Department of Justice will remain ever-vigilant in protecting the 
> integrity of America’s classified intelligence.”
> 
> A spokesperson for the Washington Post did not immediately respond to a 
> request for comment.
> 
> https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/22/washington-post-classified-docs-
> 00743280
> 
> 
Something here sounds fake 

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Contractor indicted over alleged leaks to Washington Post Democrat Employment Interruptus <dei@fired.com> - 2026-01-23 11:45 +0100
  Re: Contractor indicted over alleged leaks to Washington Post marika <marika5000@gmail.com> - 2026-02-04 05:16 +0000

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