Thu Mar 27 21:52:37 UTC 2025: ## Federal Judge Orders Preservation of Secret Military Chat Messages

**Washington D.C.** – A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from deleting messages from a Signal chat group where top officials discussed a bombing campaign in Yemen. The order, issued by Judge James Boasberg on Thursday, comes after a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit watchdog group American Oversight.

The controversy erupted after *The Atlantic* published articles revealing that its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally included in a Signal chat involving Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. The chat contained sensitive information about the planned bombing of Houthi targets in Yemen, including details of timing and aircraft deployment.

American Oversight argued that the administration’s use of Signal, a messaging app with automatic message deletion features, violated the Federal Records Act of 1950. The group claimed the administration was attempting to circumvent transparency laws by using an app designed to delete messages, some within a week, others within four weeks.

While the Trump administration initially denied the release of sensitive information and blamed the app itself, the judge sided with American Oversight, expressing concern that the messages might be deleted before they could be properly reviewed. A representative for the administration assured the judge that measures were already in place to preserve existing messages.

The judge’s order mandates the preservation of all messages from March 11th to March 15th, the period during which Goldberg had access to the chat. American Oversight lauded the decision, stating the public has a right to know how decisions about war and national security are made. President Trump dismissed the controversy as a “witch-hunt” and has refused to take disciplinary action against any officials involved. The legal battle over access to these messages is expected to continue.

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