Post B2Hgav0eFcw5bw65Fw by briankrebs@infosec.exchange
 (DIR) More posts by briankrebs@infosec.exchange
 (DIR) Post #B2Hgav0eFcw5bw65Fw by briankrebs@infosec.exchange
       2026-01-14T17:43:00Z
       
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       WaPo reports: "The FBI executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at a Washington Post reporter’s home as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials.""The reporter, Hannah Natanson, was at her home in Virginia at the time of the search. Federal agents searched her home and her devices, seizing her phone, two laptops and a Garmin watch. One of the laptops was her personal computer, the other a Washington Post-issued laptop.""It is exceptionally rare for law enforcement officials to conduct searches at reporters’ homes. Federal regulations intended to protect a free press are designed to make it difficult to use aggressive law enforcement tactics against reporters to obtain the identities of their sources or information."https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/14/washington-post-reporter-search/https://archive.ph/kYFYoGuardian piece: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/fbi-raid-washington-post-hannah-natanson
       
 (DIR) Post #B2Hgaw1OUL7ukXSC3c by thomas_klopf@dobbs.town
       2026-01-14T18:44:34Z
       
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       @briankrebs judges are the last bastion against MAGA. Once they’re turned, that’s the end of democracy..
       
 (DIR) Post #B2HgazUvYzX7X0IK0W by briankrebs@infosec.exchange
       2026-01-14T17:45:45Z
       
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       From the Guardian story:“Physical searches of reporters’ devices, homes and belongings are some of the most invasive investigative steps law enforcement can take,” Bruce D Brown, president of the Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement.“There are specific federal laws and policies at the Department of Justice that are meant to limit searches to the most extreme cases because they endanger confidential sources far beyond just one investigation and impair public interest reporting in general.“While we won’t know the government’s arguments about overcoming these very steep hurdles until the affidavit is made public, this is a tremendous escalation in the administration’s intrusions into the independence of the press.”Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute, demanded a public explanation from the justice department “why it believes this search was necessary and legally permissible”.In a statement, Jaffer said: “Any search targeting a journalist warrants intense scrutiny because these kinds of searches can deter and impede reporting that is vital to our democracy.“Attorney General Bondi has weakened guidelines that were intended to protect the freedom of the press, but there are still important legal limits, including constitutional ones, on the government’s authority to use subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants to obtain information from journalists.“Searches of newsrooms and journalists are hallmarks of illiberal regimes, and we must ensure that these practices are not normalized here.”
       
 (DIR) Post #B2HgazryBJxsgT4ivI by briankrebs@infosec.exchange
       2026-01-14T18:02:06Z
       
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       This would appear to be related to the probe into the alleged leaker ( h/t @ncweaver )  https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.597299/gov.uscourts.mdd.597299.1.1.pdf