We're offering a 2-week trial of WrapPRO for $1. If you’ve been wanting to check out our full coverage, now’s the time. Greetings!The ability of the press to do the important work of holding the powerful accountable continues to be hobbled by the Trump administration, and we have the most graphic illustration yet of this trend. On Wednesday, FBI agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified documents. To be clear, Natanson herself is not the subject of the probe or a criminal, which makes the act of searching a journalist's home an even more extreme act. This is not normal, and shouldn't be normalized. Natanson told the Post that agents searched her devices and seized a phone, two laptops, including her Post-issued laptop, and a Garmin watch. It's worth noting that Natanson covers the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the federal workforce, including the culling of thousands of career workers across the federal bureaucracy. As our Corbin Bolies writes, her coverage has produced a trove of scoops, including how the U.S. Postal Service was aiding in the administration’s mass deportation efforts and the ouster of more than a dozen inspectors general across federal agencies. Over the last year, we've seen multiple examples of the Trump administration making life harder for journalists. Last Feburary, Trump barred the Associated Press from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other events after it refused to adopt his "Gulf of America" renaming. In October, dozens of news outlets rejected new press restrictions issued by the Pentagon, walking out the door instead. He's extracted millions of dollars from the big media companies for dubious legal claims against the likes of George Stephanopoulos and "60 Minutes." When confronted with tough questions, Trump will lash out with insults like "Piggy" or "Stupid." Even in these conditions, journalists have found a way to survive — and even thrive — as they continued to break news about the administration. But as Michael Calderone writes, going into a reporter's home and seizing their devices takes the ongoing assault on press freedoms to a new and dangerous level. Each step is designed to create a chilling effect for journalists critical about the administration. And ultimately, if federal agents will storm into a journalist’s home and seize devices, can an arrest be far behind? Roger Cheng 
Calderone heard from a number of Post journalists and First Amendment experts to get their reaction, and they all expressed alarm at this latest escalation by the Trump administration... 
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