Maryland contractor accused of mishandling government information remains in custody
A Howard County man accused of mishandling and stealing classified information is staying in federal custody after a quick court hearing in Baltimore on Thursday.
Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a government contractor with top secret security clearance, appeared in court to discuss an order for his release.
Assistant Federal Public Defender Francisco Carriedo told U.S. District Court Judge George Russell the defense was not prepared to move forward with the hearing, and consented to Perez-Lugones's detention.
Russell made it clear Perez-Lugones could seek release at a later time. No future court date has been scheduled yet.
When leaving the courthouse, Carriedo and Assistant Federal Public Defender Courtney Francik declined to comment about the case.
Mishandling classified information
FBI investigators believe Perez-Lugones pulled classified information from his work and brought it home.
In its criminal complaint, the FBI said when it served a search warrant at Perez-Lugones's home, documents marked as "secret" were found in his basement, lunchbox, and car. The documents are described as "related to the national defense."
The complaint also said there's evidence of Perez-Lugones removing the header and footer designating the documents are classified while he was at work.
First Amendment concerns
As part of the investigation into Perez-Lugones, the FBI also searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson.
In a post to X, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Natanson was reporting on the information Perez-Lugones had.
While the U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed Natanson and the Washington Post aren't targets in the investigation, the decision to search Natanson's home has many questioning why it happened.
Kevin Goldberg with the Freedom Forum is one of them. He and many experts have pointed to the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, which creates a narrow window for when authorities could search journalists and newsrooms.
"The reason it doesn't occur very often, it is highly invasive. It is highly threatening to this reporter, other reporters, and to members of the public who want to talk to reporter," Goldberg said.
For Goldberg, the big question is how the DOJ will legally justify searching Natanson's home.
"There's federal law that justifies this in very limited situations, so we'll have to see what comes next," Goldberg said.
Under federal law, it is not illegal for journalists to receive or report classified information. In most cases, authorities would need to use a subpoena for journalists' materials instead of a search warrant.