A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered top national security officials to preserve messages from the encrypted messaging app Signal. This decision comes after a lawsuit by the nonprofit group American Oversight, which claims that officials violated federal records laws by using Signal to discuss military operations. The judge’s ruling requires these officials to notify the acting archivist of the United States about any messages that might be deleted.
The case gained attention when journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat where Trump administration officials discussed a planned military attack against Houthi rebels in Yemen. American Oversight argues that the use of Signal, which allows messages to vanish automatically, is a breach of federal recordkeeping rules.
Judge James Boasberg acknowledged that American Oversight did not prove that the recordkeeping systems of the involved agencies are inadequate. He also noted that the court cannot retrieve messages that have already been deleted. However, he granted a partial victory by ordering that any messages still in existence must be preserved.
American Oversight’s executive director, Chioma Chukwu, expressed hopes for compliance and warned that they are ready to take further legal action if necessary. The ruling highlights concerns about whether classified information was shared in the Signal chat, prompting scrutiny from military and intelligence experts.
Goldberg’s reporting revealed significant exchanges in the chat, including discussions about military targets and attack plans. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who participated in the chat, has denied that any classified information was exchanged. The White House also stated that its review of the incident concluded no classified plans were shared.
The controversy surrounding the use of Signal continued when it was reported that Hegseth discussed military details in another Signal chat that included family members. This raised further questions about the appropriateness of using commercial messaging apps for official government business.
The plaintiffs allege that officials violated the Federal Records Act by discussing official actions on an unauthorized platform. They claim that many participants had the auto-delete function turned on, which may have resulted in lost records. Judge Boasberg’s earlier orders required the preservation of messages from a specific timeframe related to the military strike.
As the case unfolds, American Oversight remains skeptical about the government’s compliance with record preservation and the effectiveness of their recordkeeping systems. The judge’s opinion suggests that the defendants did not have trouble following their agencies’ policies regarding message preservation.
This situation raises important questions about the use of private messaging apps for government communications and the implications for transparency and accountability in federal operations.