Judge orders Trump officials to preserve Signal messages

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - WASHINGTON — A federal judge has ordered senior Trump administration officials to preserve messages exchanged in a Signal group chat discussing U.S. military strikes in Yemen, following concerns that potentially classified communications may have violated federal records laws.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued the order after the watchdog group American Oversight filed a lawsuit alleging that the use of the encrypted, auto-deleting messaging app by White House officials contravened the Federal Records Act.

The order, issued during a Thursday hearing, directs Trump officials to retain any Signal messages sent or received between March 11 and March 15. Judge Boasberg emphasized that the directive was a precaution to prevent the loss of records and not a finding of wrongdoing.

"The Trump administration has and will continue to comply with all applicable record-keeping laws," said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly in a statement.

The lawsuit, which also names the National Archives and Records Administration, argues that communications over Signal should have been preserved in an official government system, especially given their nature. The complaint highlights the risk that such messages—set to auto-delete—could vanish permanently without legal intervention.

American Oversight’s complaint names several officials reportedly involved in the chat, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Signal chat came to light after *The Atlantic* reported that its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, had inadvertently been added to the group. He published a detailed account of the conversations, which included discussions of an imminent strike on the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. One account, believed to be Hegseth’s, reportedly shared specific details about weapons and targeting plans for a March 15 operation.

The National Security Council later confirmed the chat’s authenticity.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed the significance of the chat, saying no official “war plans” were shared, characterizing the exchanges instead as “sensitive policy discussions.”

Judge Boasberg’s preservation order remains in effect through April 10, pending further review of the administration’s efforts to safeguard the records. “This order marks an important step toward accountability,” said Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight.

Boasberg is also presiding over a separate legal challenge involving the Trump administration’s deportation of Venezuelan nationals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798—an action that has sparked accusations of defying a judicial order.

Tensions between the judiciary and the White House escalated further this week after President Donald Trump suggested that Boasberg should be impeached over his rulings. In a rare public response, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts criticized the president's remarks, defending the independence of the judiciary.

At Thursday’s hearing, Boasberg noted that his assignment to the Signal case was purely random and reiterated that his verbal directive would be formalized in writing. — Agencies