On Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to maintain records of a text message chat where senior national security officials discussed plans for a U.S. military operation against Yemen’s Houthis. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that these officials are prohibited from deleting messages exchanged earlier this month via the encrypted messaging app Signal.
The order was prompted by a request from the nonprofit watchdog organization American Oversight. An attorney for the government stated that steps were already being taken to collect and preserve these messages.
The Atlantic published the Signal chat in full on Wednesday. This discussion involved notable figures such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. The plans detailed by Hegseth include precise timings for warplane launches and missile strikes, the identification of a primary terrorist target, and the use of specific military assets. The messages were programmed to disappear within a week.
American Oversight has filed a lawsuit to ensure compliance with the Federal Records Act, suspecting that administration officials frequently use Signal for official communication. The organization argues the public should have access to these government records, even if they consist of auto-deleting messages from private devices.
Judge Boasberg’s order applies to messages dated between March 11 and March 15. Justice Department attorney Amber Richer indicated that they are still ascertaining the extent of the records held by the agencies. Boasberg expressed satisfaction with the progress and set a deadline of April 10 for compliance.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the Signal chat did not contain classified information. Hegseth’s spokesperson Sean Parnell clarified that the exchange was an update on an ongoing plan, not the sharing of classified materials.
Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe informed the Senate Intelligence Committee that the classification of the information fell under Hegseth’s purview. American Oversight contends that this practice is an attempt to circumvent federal record-keeping regulations, which it claims undermines transparency and accountability in government actions.
Judge Boasberg, nominated by former President Barack Obama, has previously clashed with the administration over a separate case involving the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants, where his order to cease flights was not followed. This ongoing scrutiny underscores the tensions between maintaining governmental transparency and executing operational security within current administrative practices.
