Early Wednesday, FBI agents raided the home of a Washington Post reporter as part of an investigation of 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. She covers the federal government for The Post and spent the past year connecting with sources while reporting on the Trump administration’s efforts to fire federal workers.

Investigators said neither Natanson nor The Post are the focus of the probe, but many saw the search as a jarring new step aimed at limiting news organizations’ ability to gather information.

Today on “Post Reports,” democracy reporter Sarah Ellison joins host Elahe Izadi to discuss the unusual move by federal law enforcement and the lengths journalists go to to keep sources safe.

And, in the second half of the show, we bring you an excerpt from an April 2025 conversation with Natanson – about how she became The Post’s “federal government whisperer.”

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Dennis Funk and mixed by Sam Bair.

The April 23 episode was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon and edited by Peter Bresnan.

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The FBI raid on our reporter's home

Post Reports