BURSTA federal court will conduct a search of devices seized from a Washington Post reporter after a magistrate judge decided yesterday that the Department of Justice cannot be trusted to perform the search on its own.
US Magistrate Judge William Porter criticized government prosecutors for not including key information in a search warrant application. The court wasn't aware of a 1980 law that limits searches and seizures of journalists' work materials when it approved the warrant, Porter acknowledged.
The decision came six weeks after the FBI executed the search warrant at the Virginia home of reporter Hannah Natanson. Porter declined the Post and Natanson's request to return the devices immediately but decided on a court-led process to ensure that the search is limited to materials that may aid a criminal case against an alleged leaker who was in contact with Natanson. He also rescinded the portion of the search warrant that authorized the government to open, access, review, or otherwise examine the seized data.