A law professor at Georgetown University Law Center warned in a new Substack essay that one of America's most coveted rights is "sliding" away after President Donald Trump's Department of Justice raided the home of a Washington Post reporter.
Unlike many other countries, Americans enjoy the right to know what their government is doing because of the Constitution's protections for the press, Professor Steve Vladek argued. However, he noted that protection is fragile and indirect, which is why the Trump administration's decision to raid reporter Hannah Natanson's home and seize her phone, two laptops, and a Garmin watch, The Washington Post reported.
Vladek described the raid as "eye-opening."
The federal government said the raid was in connection with a leak of national security information. Vladek noted that none of the circumstances Attorney General Pam Bondi mentioned appeared to fall within the scope of the law authorizing such a raid.
"The theory behind the search seems to be that Natanson might have been in possession of at least some material relayed to her by [Aurelio] Perez-Lugones," Vladek wrote, referring to the target of the investigation, who is accused of leaking classified information. "Not that she was in any way conspiring with Perez-Lugones."
The episode reminded Vladek of a speech by Justice Potter Stewart, who said the Constitution "is neither a Freedom of Information Act nor an Official Secrets Act."
"The problem with Wednesday’s events is the suggestion that we are sliding toward the latter," Vladek wrote.