Judge says DOJ cannot search Washington Post reporter's seized devices

A federal judge has ruled the Justice Department cannot search a Washington Post reporter's seized devices.

The decision was in a filing Tuesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter, in which her wrote specifically that the agency could not “open, access, review, or otherwise examine any of” reporter Hannah Natanson’s seized data, according to The Hill news outlet.

He also wrote that in seizing Natanson’s devices the department took her work product, documentary material and access to the confidential sources – "all the tools she needs as a working journalist."

In addition, he said the government’s proposed remedy of Natanson simply buying a new phone and laptop, set up new accounts and "start from scratch" is "unjust and unreasonable." 

The FBI took Natanson’s devices when searching her home last month.  She had been reporting on the Trump administration's federal workforce reductions and its work on cutting government spending.

The Post had said the search “violates the Constitution’s protections for free speech and a free press and should not be allowed to stand.”

The DOJ said that the search was linked to a government system administrator in Maryland who allegedly leaked classified material. The department didn't respond to The Hill's request for comment.

“The Court’s genuine hope is that this search was conducted – as the government contends – to gather evidence of a crime in a single case, not to collect information about confidential sources from a reporter who has published articles critical of the administration," Porter also wrote. "The Court further hopes the record ultimately bears out the government’s representations."