Patel defends FBI search of WaPo reporter's home: 'We obtained a lawful search warrant'

FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday defended the bureau's search of a Washington Post journalist's home as part of a probe into the dissemination of classified documents.

In January, the FBI raided the home of journalist Hannah Natanson and seized a Garmin watch and phone. The Washington Post has denounced the search. The search pertained to the case of system administrator Aurelio Perez-Lugones, who faces charges for unlawful retention of classified materials. Patel stated that the information in question "no doubt jeopardized the lives of American war fighters."

Speaking on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show, Patel defended the search, confirming that the bureau had full legal authority to investigate the reporter's home.

"We obtained a lawful search warrant," he said. "That means a federal district court judge right here in Washington, DC, understood, read the parameters of our search warrant, and said, 'You have met the threshold for legal probable cause that a crime has occurred, and you can go see these devices,' and that's what we did."

He further highlighted that no law shielded journalists from searches if they were involved in criminal activity, saying that the media outlets "screaming" over the search could not "say what we did was unconstitutional or in any way illegal."

"And the mission is to protect classified information. And to further that mission, we must find every single person involved in the dissemination of classified information ever, and we are vigorously doing that with our Department of Justice partners," Patel continued. "We're not done with this investigation. It's just starting."

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.