WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked federal prosecutors from reviewing material seized during an FBI search of a Washington Post reporter’s home last week as part of an investigation into the alleged sharing of secret government information.
The Washington Post and the reporter, Hannah Natanson, asked a judge to order the return of all seized property, arguing the January 14 search violated free press and speech protections under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter directed federal prosecutors not to examine any of the information seized at least until early next month, when he scheduled a hearing on the request. Porter said the ruling would preserve the status quo until the Justice Department has an opportunity to respond to the Post’s legal filing.
FBI agents searched Natanson’s Virginia home as part of what Justice Department officials described as an investigation into the leak of classified information. The search was tied to a criminal case against a Pentagon contractor, who is charged with illegally retaining national defense information, officials said.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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