Judge orders Trump administration to preserve Signal messages on Yemen strikes

A federal judge mandated key agencies under US president Donald Trump’s administration to preserve all messages exchanged through the encrypted application Signal between March 11 and March 15. This announcement was made after senior officials used the app to plan on military operations targeting Houthi forces in Yemen.
US district judge James Boasberg issued the temporary restraining order on Thursday, responding to a lawsuit filed by American Oversight. The group contended that the use of Signal, which allowed messages to be set for automatic deletion, breaches federal record-keeping laws. The justice department indicated that efforts were already underway to locate and safeguard relevant communications from this period, CNN reported.
Judge Boasberg also directed the administration to provide a status report by Monday, including declarations from government officials outlining the actions taken to preserve these messages.
The messages under scrutiny reportedly contained discussions about US military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. According to The Atlantic, just hours before the 15 March strikes, high-ranking members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet exchanged detailed operational plans within a Signal group chat. The inadvertent inclusion of a journalist in this group led to the public disclosure of these sensitive communications. citeturn0news16
In light of these events, American Oversight has initiated legal action, alleging that the Cabinet officials involved violated federal records laws. Sources have indicated that the information shared by US secretary of defense Pete Hegseth within the group chat was classified, a claim the Trump administration has refuted. citeturn0news13
The interim executive director of American Oversight, Chioma Chukwu, said, “The public has a right to know how decisions about war and national security are made — and accountability doesn’t disappear just because a message was set to auto-delete.”
During the 20-minute court hearing, Judge Boasberg emphasised the importance of “finding common ground” between the Trump administration and American Oversight to facilitate a mutually agreeable temporary restraining order.
Prior to the hearing, the treasury department reported that it had already retrieved and preserved a “partial” record of the chat for federal documentation purposes. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who participated in the 15 March Signal conversation.
This development has intensified scrutiny over the administration’s communication practices, particularly concerning the handling of sensitive information and adherence to federal record-keeping obligations.