A federal judge said Thursday he will issue a temporary restraining order requiring the Trump administration to preserve encrypted messages sent by senior national security officials discussing U.S. military action against Yemen’s Houthis.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s decision follows a lawsuit from watchdog group American Oversight, which alleges officials used the encrypted messaging app Signal to circumvent federal record-keeping laws. The order will apply to messages sent between March 11 and March 15.
The Atlantic published the full Signal chat Wednesday. Editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg had been added to a conversation that included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and DNI Tulsi Gabbard. In the messages, Hegseth detailed timing for F-18 launches, drone strikes, and sea-based Tomahawk missile deployment.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Hegseth’s spokesman denied any classified information was shared. The administration says it is already working to retain the messages.
American Oversight argues the use of Signal on private devices amounts to an effort to evade transparency laws: “There is no legitimate reason for this behavior,” their filing states.
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