Contractor indicted in six-count espionage case tied to WaPo leak

A government contractor, Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, 61, was indicted on five counts of unlawfully transmitting and one count of unlawfully retaining national defense information after allegedly sharing classified material with Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson; the case followed a court-authorized search of Natanson’s home and has raised questions about DOJ’s handling of newsgathering evidence, with Natanson not charged. Perez-Lugones faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted; a hearing on seized devices is pending after a magistrate briefly allowed his release before prosecutors appealed.