A federal judge in Washington has directed top Trump administration officials to retain messages from a private Signal chat where they discussed a military operation.
On March 27, Judge James Boasberg issued the order in response to a lawsuit sparked by the controversy. The directive applies to National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President Vance, and former President Donald Trump. They must ensure the preservation of messages exchanged in the chat, which was inadvertently exposed when a journalist was mistakenly added.
The order covers communications between March 11 and 15, during which officials discussed a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen.
However, Judge Boasberg has not yet determined whether the Signal chat violated any laws.
The lawsuit, filed by a nonprofit organization, claims the use of the private chat may have breached federal record-keeping laws. It seeks an urgent court mandate to preserve the messages, arguing that the discussion took place outside official government communication channels.
