‘A grave crime’: Pentagon contractor indicted for leaking classified info to Washington Post
A federal grand jury indicted a government contractor on Thursday who allegedly leaked classified information to a reporter at The Washington Post.
Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones has been charged with six felony violations of the Espionage Act, including five counts of unlawfully transmitting and one count of unlawfully retaining national defense information, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. Perez-Lugones’ alleged leaks prompted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to search the home of Hannah Natanson, the reporter at the Post, and seize several of her belongings on Jan. 14.
Between October 2025 and January 2026, Perez-Lugones allegedly accessed classified information, printed or copied the reports and transmitted the information to Natanson, according to the DOJ. Natanson then contributed to at least five articles containing classified information between October and January.
Perez-Lugones navigated and searched databases or repositories containing classified material without authorization and accessed classified intelligence reports, some of which were related to a foreign country, and classified as Top Secret, according to the DOJ. He took screenshots of the reports and pasted them into Microsoft Word documents and other applications.
Federal agents searched Perez-Lugones’ residence and vehicle on Jan. 8 and found several documents marked as “SECRET,” according to the DOJ. They found a lunchbox in his vehicle and another document in his basement, which contained that label. Perez-Lugones also allegedly sent photographs of classified information to Natanson and wrote in a message, “I’m going quiet for a bit . . . just to see if anyone starts asking questions,” according to the DOJ.
“Illegally disclosing classified defense information is a grave crime against America that puts both our national security and the lives of our military heroes at risk,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “This Department of Justice will remain ever-vigilant in protecting the integrity of America’s classified intelligence.”
Authorities also observed the suspect looking at national defense information and printing it inside his cubicle at work, the DOJ reported. He also allegedly removed his name from headers on documents before leaving the workplace.
If convicted, Perez-Lugones faces a maximum sentence of 10 years for each count, according to the DOJ.
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