Washington Post staffers are reportedly mad at the newspaper’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos for keeping mum on the FBI raid that targeted one of their colleagues, with one journo calling the Amazon mogul’s silence “nauseating and irresponsible.”
He’s yet to publicly speak out since federal agents raided a WaPo reporter’s home in connection with a probe of a government contractor who allegedly retained classified materials illegally. The feds seized two laptops, a phone and a smartwatch from Hannah Natanson, who covers the federal government.
One staffer told the Status newsletter it was “nauseating and irresponsible to have our owner remain silent given this unprecedented event.”
Another said they were “disappointed” but “not surprised” by the lack of public support from Bezos.
A third told Status: “If there is a moment to stand up for our journalistic values, this would be it.”
Statements to date from the paper’s leadership haven’t been vigorous enough, disgruntled staffers said.
Executive Editor Matt Murray circulated an internal memo, writing: “This extraordinary, aggressive action is deeply concerning and raises profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work.”
“The Washington Post has a long history of zealous support for robust press freedoms. The entire institution stands by those freedoms and our work.”
Some 12 hours after the raid, the paper’s editorial board published a statement condemning the search as “an aggressive attack on the press freedom of all journalists.”
Publisher and CEO Will Lewis later issued a statement praising Natanson as one of the newspaper’s “finest reporters” and calling the search warrant “outrageous.”
Murray also met privately with Natanson for about 30 minutes, according to Status.
Still, a WaPo insider told Status: “There’s some growing frustration that there hasn’t been a robust public response from current leadership.”
The FBI’s investigation centers on a contractor named Aurelio Perez-Lugones, who was arrested last week and charged with unlawful retention of classified national defense information under the Espionage Act.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the search of Natanson’s home was conducted at the request of the Department of War and that the reporter had been “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.”
“Leaking classified information puts America’s national security and the safety of our military heroes in serious jeopardy,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X. “President Trump has zero tolerance for it and will continue to aggressively crack down on these illegal acts moving forward.”
Bezos took a mostly hands-off approach in the years after buying the Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million. But since Trump’s reelection in 2024, Bezos has personally intervened in editorial decisions.
In October of that year, he ordered the paper to abandon its long-standing practice of presidential endorsements, killing a prepared endorsement of then-Vice President Kamala Harris just days before the election — a move that stunned the newsroom and triggered resignations, protests by staff and a wave of subscription cancellations.
Last year, Bezos imposed a new ideological mandate on the opinion section, saying it should focus on “personal liberties and free markets.” As right-leaning journalist Adam O’Neal executed the overhaul, a senior opinion leadership made for the exits.
The Post has sought comment from the Justice Department and Perez-Lugones. A Washington Post spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
