A federal judge in Virginia scolded Justice Department attorneys on Friday for not mentioning the 1980 Privacy Protection Act when they submitted their application for a warrant to search a Washington Post reporter’s home and seize her devices.

The Privacy Protection Act limits the government’s ability to search and seize journalists’ materials.

“Did you not tell me intentionally or did you not know,” Magistrate Judge William Porter asked.

The testy exchange unfolded in the middle of a hearing to determine whether the government should be permitted to search through the devices seized from Post reporter Hannah Natanson – or whether the government must return those devices to Natanson without an extensive search.

The judge appeared inclined to find a middle ground that would allow the court to do a search of the devices on behalf of the government – and then hand information relevant to the search warrant over to prosecutors. This would prevent the government from having potentially unfettered access to Natanson’s devices, which The Post said the reporter has used to communicate with roughly 1,200 confidential sources.

“I have a pretty good sense of what I’m going to do here,” Porter said, adding that he wanted to spend some more time thoroughly considering his options before making a ruling. He scheduled another hearing for March 4 and said he expects to issue his ruling before then.

Friday’s hearing marked the first time that prosecutors and attorneys for The Post have met in court since the unprecedented Jan. 14 search of Natanson’s home in Virginia. Federal agents seized a phone, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive and a Garmin watch. Law enforcement officials said the search was part of their investigation into government contractor Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a systems administrator with top secret clearance who was indicted in Maryland last month on charges of unlawfully obtaining and sharing classified materials.

The discussion of the Privacy Protection Act reflected the tense moment of the nearly hour-long hearing in the Alexandria, Virginia, federal courthouse. Porter said he was particularly frustrated because he had spent two days going back and forth with the government in January before he approved the warrant. He said he rejected multiple versions of the warrant requests before settling on a relatively narrow warrant to seize information on Natanson’s devices pertaining to her communications with the government contractor.

The 1980 act is intended to prevent the criminalization of a reporter gathering information. It says that a journalist’s materials should be seized only if that journalist is suspected of committing a crime with those materials. The law says that a reporter’s possessions can be seized if investigators suspect they contain certain materials related to sensitive national security information.

Justice Department trial attorney Christian Dibblee apologized to the judge and said he could not answer the questions about why the government had not discussed that law because he was not involved in the submission of the warrant. Another prosecutor who submitted the warrant – Gordon Kromberg, a veteran attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia – chimed in and said he did not mention the law because he does not believe it applied to the case.

Porter suggested that whether or not the law applied in this instance, prosecutors should have included it in the application so that the judge could determine its relevance.

“That’s minimizing it,” Porter told the government trial attorney when he said he understood the judge’s frustration.

It is exceptionally rare for law enforcement officials to search reporters’ homes to further cases in which the journalist is not a target. The law allows such searches under some circumstances, but federal regulations intended to protect a free press are designed to make it more difficult to use aggressive law enforcement tactics against reporters to obtain the identities of their sources.

EDMONDS, Wash. — Ahmad Hilal Abid arrived in Seattle as a teenager, leaving Afghanistan with his family in search of opportunity and safety.

Looking back, he admits that adjusting to life in the United States was not easy.

I immigrated from Afghanistan to Seattle directly back in 2018 when I was just fifteen years old,” Abid said. “Life, in the beginning, was very challenging: coming as a teenager to America, navigating a new culture, a new place.

He said he struggled to learn English.

“I found myself as a guy who could not speak any English,” Abid continued. “A person who was bullied because of my English skills.”

Abid remembers multiple instances of his broken English being met with laughter and ridicule. Despite those challenges, Abid said he found freedom in his new home.

“I can practice my faith. I can freely express myself. I can stand by my word, you know?” Abid said. “I can do certain things that I could never do in my past country.”

While he was finding joy in his newfound freedom, Abid had some trouble finding his place. Rather than focus on fitting in, he decided to create opportunities for others who shared similar experiences.

A lot of youngsters around my age want to fit in. But me, I want to create a space for me and my community.” He added, “If we study our history, immigrants from all over the world have come here to call it home. I am an American, but with my own identity, with my own values, so I could never try to fit in.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Abid launched a non-profit called House of Wisdom, which, according to its website, is a program that offers “free, inclusive academic support and culturally responsive mentorship to underserved youth.”

Abid started the non-profit with a small group of students inside his family’s garage. He says he borrowed three-hundred dollars from his dad to purchase tables and chairs. It didn’t take long for twenty students to turn to Abid’s new program for help with math and English homework. Abid says he connects deeply with the students.

An image of students participating in the non-profit called House of Wisdom in Seattle, Washington. (KOMO News)

“We share tutoring, math, English, and helping them with their homework, navigating a life in a new country,” Abid said, sharing that he sees himself in every student who comes into the program.

House of Wisdom has since expanded beyond its original location. It is now holding sessions in four different sites and serves more than 200 students.

“This is a non-profit with over 70 mentors coming and getting paid opportunities.”

In addition to tutoring, the program emphasizes mentorship and emotional support, with a focus on serving refugees, immigrants, and young women whose access to education may have been limited.

“So here, helping empower women and girls, empowering the underserved, empowering refugees and immigrants, means that we are empowering while others are suffering from a lack of education,” said Abid.

Abid said the mission is personal and rooted in his own values.

An image of students participating in the non-profit called House of Wisdom in Seattle, Washington. (KOMO News)

“Helping others is part of my identity, and that’s why I am living. That’s why I wake up in the morning.”

He encourages others to give their time to strengthen their communities.

“If you’re touching someone’s life by volunteering, this is what makes a difference in our community. Even one or two hours, having that will also inspire you to do more in your community.” Reflecting on his journey, he said, “My family was very worried about me. ‘What would he do in America?’ And now, I am an entrepreneur. I am creating opportunities for students who were born and raised in America. That’s where this immigrant came from. I want to say, immigrants: we don’t take jobs, we create jobs.”