Yesterday, we learned that Pulitzer-Prize winning Washington Post reporter Thomas LeGro was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography.
The Department of Justice reported:
On June 26, 2025, FBI agents executed a search warrant at LeGro’s residence and seized several electronic devices. A review of LeGro’s work laptop revealed a folder that contained 11 videos depicting child sexual abuse material.
During the execution of the search warrant agents observed what appeared to be fractured pieces of a hard drive in the hallway outside the room where LeGro’s work laptop was found.
It seems to me this is a significant, breaking news story and one the Washington Post should cover with the greatest transparency possible.
However, WaPo has decided to circle the wagons and put their story about LeGro behind a paywall:
They hid the story about their own criminal freak behind a paywall… because of course. https://t.co/v5C2r6tJOM
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) June 27, 2025
Here's some of what they reported, however:
Charging papers filed Thursday and unsealed Friday were largely redacted, leaving the origins of the investigation unclear. But a 13-page FBI arrest affidavit said agents during a search Thursday of LeGro’s home recovered an Apple MacBook laptop containing 11 video files depicting child pornography. Prosecutors said Friday it was LeGro’s work computer.
The FBI said in charging papers that LeGro was linked to an account identified in 2005 as part of an investigation into E-Gold, a payment company used by child pornography websites.
An April 2006 subpoena to a third-party technology company linked LeGro to the account, and two other E-Gold accounts had similar user names and were associated with the same address and phone number as the first, the FBI said.
Having worked in healthcare, I can tell you every keystroke on my work laptop was tracked in the name of patient security and HIPAA. Does the WaPo not do the same for their journalists' work computers? Is there no IT department that looks at those laptops from time to time or reissues new ones if they stop working? WaPo needs to be transparent about that, too.
The Washington Post rebranded its slogan to 'Democracy dies in darkness' on February 22, 2017, in response to Donald Trump's presidency, even though reports claim the slogan was in the works a year before the election. Nothing is darker than child pornography, and yet the outlet is suppressing a story about one of their own who is involved with such evil.
But this is illustrative of the problem the media has had for a long time, and continues to have, despite all their bloviating about transparency, objectivity, and speaking truth to power: when the rubber meets the road, the media never apply those standards to themselves.
I'll also point out that CNN's Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter hasn't said a word about LeGro's arrest or how the WaPo is handling it, because he's too busy digging through the dumpsters outside Fox News. It would seem (to me, at least) like someone who's sole purpose is to cover media outlets would jump at the chance to cover this story.
Guess not.
LeGro's crimes are horrific, and his victims deserve justice. To that end, Washington Post readers deserve to know the whole story, especially from the news outlet that employed LeGro. And especially because the files were found on LeGro's work computer.
Instead, they hide this story behind a paywall, knowing full well most Americans won't bother to pony up whatever they're asking to read their drivel.
But they'll insist that we trust them as they report about President Trump and Republicans in general. In fact, I would bet good money if someone in the White House were charged with the same crimes, WaPo would have no qualms about putting that story out sans paywall.
Because 'Democracy dies in darkness' is their slogan, after all.
'Trust us, bro' would be more fitting.
