Judge issues temporary order after paper had sought return of Hannah Natanson’s devices taken in ‘outrageous seizure’
Jeremy Barr at The Guardian:
A US judge temporarily blocked federal prosecutors on Wednesday from reviewing material seized when the FBI raided a Washington Post reporter’s home. Hours earlier, the Post asked a federal court in Virginia to force the US government to return electronics belonging to Hannah Natanson. US magistrate judge William Porter directed prosecutors not to examine any information seized at least until early February, when he has scheduled a hearing on the request. This ruling would preserve the status quo, Porter said, until the Department of Justice has an opportunity to respond to the Post’s request.
Natanson, who has closely reported on the ways the Trump administration has reshaped the federal government, had two laptops, two phones, a Garmin watch and other devices seized last week as part of an investigation into a government contractor’s alleged retention of classified materials, an action that press freedom groups decried as highly unusual and wildly inappropriate. “The outrageous seizure of our reporter’s confidential newsgathering materials chills speech, cripples reporting, and inflicts irreparable harm every day the government keeps its hands on these materials,” the Post said in a statement on Wednesday. “We have asked the court to order the immediate return of all seized materials and prevent their use. Anything less would license future newsroom raids and normalize censorship by search warrant.” The Post filed two motions in US district court for the eastern district of Virginia. In addition to requesting the government return the materials, the newspaper also asked for an order instructing the government to keep copies of the material under seal – and not review them – until the matter is resolved.
The Washington Post asked to force the US government to return electronics belonging to Hannah Natanson, whose home was raided by FBI.
