Judge Assigned to Trump Signal Chat Lawsuit

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has been assigned to a lawsuit filed by American Oversight against Trump administration officials, alleging violations of the Federal Records Act (FRA) regarding the use of the Signal messaging app for discussions about military operations in Yemen. The lawsuit targets Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and other officials, claiming that their use of disappearing messages for official communications constitutes unlawful destruction of federal records. This legal action follows a report by The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, who was inadvertently included in the group chat discussing the strikes on Houthi rebels. Boasberg has previously clashed with the Trump administration over deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, leading to calls for his impeachment from President Trump. The administration has invoked the “state secrets” privilege in related litigation, complicating the ongoing legal battles. American Oversight seeks to recover deleted messages and prevent further destruction of records as part of its case against the administration officials.