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A federal judge has ordered top Trump administration officials to preserve encrypted Signal messages exchanged during a group chat in which senior national security leaders discussed details of a US military strike on Yemen.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you missed it, top US officials are at the center of a growing scandal—dubbed “Signalgate”—after it was revealed that they used the encrypted messaging app Signal to coordinate and discuss a US military strike on Yemen. The chat included high-ranking Trump administration members like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and featured real-time updates on warplane launches and strike timing. The controversy blew up after The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to the chat, exposing the conversation—and its auto-deleting settings—to the public. In response, watchdog group American Oversight filed a federal lawsuit, claiming the officials’ use of Signal violated the Federal Records Act by enabling the destruction of official communications.
What’s going on now: In a notable ruling, US District Judge James Boasberg, the same judge assigned to a separate high-profile deportation case involving the Trump administration, ordered that all Signal messages exchanged by senior officials between March 11 and March 15 be preserved. The order comes as part of the ongoing lawsuit filed by American Oversight, which is seeking to ensure compliance with federal transparency laws. Boasberg called the decision a “compromise order,” noting that while the administration claimed it was already taking steps to preserve the messages, the court’s directive would ensure immediate accountability. He also required the government to submit sworn declarations verifying their efforts to retain the Signal communications.
This comes after American Oversight argued that the officials’ use of Signal, particularly with its auto-deleting feature, posed an imminent threat to the preservation of government records and undermined the principles of public transparency. In court filings, the organization claimed that the use of a private, encrypted app for sensitive military discussions—especially one set to automatically delete messages—constituted a deliberate attempt to circumvent federal recordkeeping obligations.
Under the Federal Records Act, federal agencies and officials are legally required to preserve records that document government activities, decisions, and operations. This includes communications made through modern digital platforms if they pertain to official duties. By conducting military planning on a disappearing chat app outside of official government channels, American Oversight says that the Trump administration violated this law, depriving both Congress and the public of access to essential records.
The Trump administration has not commented on the ruling.
