Washington Post staff are expressing anger that billionaire owner Jeff Bezos has not spoken out publicly after the Department of Justice raided the home of one of its reporters earlier this week.
In an escalation of the Trump administration’s sustained attack on the truth, the FBI raided the home of reporter Hannah Natanson Wednesday morning, seizing her personal and work-related devices as part of a purported investigation into leaks from the Pentagon.
Many legitimate journalists abandoned their jobs covering the Pentagon after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded to review all reporting before it’s made public. Now, they’ve been replaced by right-wing propagandists who are happy to comply with the Trump administration’s censorship.
Bezos, who is ranked by Forbes as the fourth wealthiest person in the world, has owned the Post since 2013. He has made no public comment about the federal government’s action against his employee.
One journalist told Status that it’s “nauseating and irresponsible to have our owner remain silent given this unprecedented event.”Â
“If there is a moment to stand up for our journalistic values, this would be it,” another source said.
Multiple organizations supporting press freedoms have slammed the FBI’s action against Natanson.
“Physical searches of reporters’ devices, homes and belongings are some of the most invasive investigative steps law enforcement can take,” said Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press President Bruce D. Brown.
Similarly, Knight First Amendment Institute Executive Director Jameel Jaffer said in a release, “Any search targeting a journalist warrants intense scrutiny because these kinds of searches can deter and impede reporting that is vital to our democracy.”
Bezos has spent the last few years cozying up to President Donald Trump. He was a donor to Trump’s inaugural committee, and Amazon spent more than $40 million to acquire the rights to a documentary about first lady Melania Trump.
The Post announced last year that it was shifting its opinion section to the right, following up on its 2024 decision to shelve an endorsement of Kamala Harris in the presidential race. In response, the paper lost several key contributors, including columnists and members of its editorial board.
But Trump has been effusive in his praise of the Post’s pivot to becoming MAGA media.
“Jeff Bezos is trying to do a real job with the Washington Post,” he said in a 2025 interview.
The paper followed this up by providing space in its editorial pages for propaganda from key administration figures, including U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, who penned a piece justifying Trump’s deployment of military forces to the nation’s capital.
Despite Bezos’ policy of appeasement, the recent FBI raid shows that Trump still feels unrestrained when it comes to using force against the press—even toward an outlet that’s already under his thumb.
