Washington DC - The FBI on Wednesday searched the home of Washington Post journalist Hannah Natanson, who has written about federal job cuts, in a move the newspaper described as "highly unusual and aggressive."

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the search was part of an investigation into an alleged leak from the Pentagon, which has introduced new restrictive media policies under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Bondi claimed without providing evidence that the reporter "was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor" and that the search warrant was executed after a request from the Defense Department.

The Washington Post, who confirmed Natanson was targeted, said federal agents seized a work laptop, a personal laptop, her phone, and a watch from her home in Virginia, outside Washington. She was reportedly told she is not the focus of the probe.

The paper reported that law enforcement was investigating Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator with top-level security clearance who is accused of taking home intelligence documents found in his lunchbox and his basement.

Perez-Lugones, who served in the US Navy before working as a Pentagon contractor, was arrested last week in Maryland, according to court documents that do not mention any contact with journalists – despite claims made by FBI director in an X post riddled with inaccuracies.

"The leaker is currently behind bars," Bondi said on social media. "The Trump Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation's national security."

In December, Natanson wrote how she posted her secure phone number on an online forum for government workers and many contacted her about their experiences of radical cutbacks and policy changes in Trump's second term.

In keeping with President Donald Trump's attack on media critical of his administration, the Pentagon last year restricted access, forcing some outlets to vacate offices in the building and drastically reducing the number of briefings for journalists.