American Crisis Extra: Read this to feel better

It’s been quite a few months for Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson. In January, in an unprecedented and shocking move, the FBI entered her home and seized her devices.

This week, she and her Post colleagues won journalism’s highest award, the Pulitzer Prize for public service, for coverage of the Trump administration’s radical overhaul of government agencies under the auspices of Elon Musk’s DOGE.

And also this week, a second judge blocked the Justice Department from searching Natanson’s devices. The judge said he could not ignore “the harassing and chilling effects” of the seizure, as the Hill reported.

Erik Wemple of the New York Times wrote about Natanson, his former Post colleague.

Here’s a gift link to his piece, which includes this quote from her former editor, Lynda Robinson, about Natanson’s work ethic, as she gathered more than 1,100 sources for her stories.

“She was working so hard, I worried about her. She probably has two years’ of comp time.”

Readers, because I know you care about journalism and democracy, I’m sure you’ll appreciate learning more about Nathanson and all that’s happened. I also loved her words to her sources as she acknowledged the Pulitzer in the Post newsroom: “To every government worker who risked so much to confide in me, I want you to know your trust is the highest honor I will ever receive.”

Let me know your reaction in the comments. Thanks to all for reading and subscribing to American Crisis.