FTA:

Weeks later, the very judge who authorized the takedown took a second look and reached a different conclusion: the government investigators now asking for trust no longer deserved it.

Earlier this week, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter made that judgment explicit, blocking the Justice Department from searching the seized devices of journalist Hannah Natanson and sharply rebuking prosecutors for how they handled the case.

In a blistering 22-page opinion, Porter reversed course after initially authorizing the seizure, ruling that the DOJ, led by Bondi, could not be trusted to police itself in light of its omissions, shifting explanations, and priorities that put hunting down leaks ahead of protecting First Amendment freedoms.

Now, instead of allowing a government "filter team" to review the materials, Porter ordered that the court itself would conduct the examination " a rare and humiliating step that deepened the DOJ's embarrassment and highlighted growing judicial skepticism of its actions.