On Thursday, a federal judge who previously blocked the Trump administration from deporting foreign gang members ordered the preservation of all leaked messages between administration officials containing “attack plans.”
Jeffrey Goldberg and Shane Harris of The Atlantic published transcripts in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth detailed the military’s plans for an attack on the Houthis in Yemen, followed by Vice President JD Vance declaring he would “say a prayer for victory.” U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, nominated by former President Barack Obama, directed the Trump administration to preserve all communications made through the Signal app between March 11 to March 15.
Boasberg’s directive specifically targets five Trump officials who actively participated in the discussions, mandating that they “promptly make best efforts” to preserve messages. Goldberg’s article detailed the administration’s planned attack on the Houthi rebels in Yemen, revealing sensitive information about the timing and weaponry intended for use in the strike.
American Oversight, a group known for frequently suing the federal government for records, filed the lawsuit and alleges that the group chat breached the Federal Records Act.
“This order marks an important step toward accountability,” American Oversight Interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said in a statement. “We are grateful for the judge’s ruling to halt any further destruction of these critical records. 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 court proceedings, Boasberg addressed critics after he was randomly assigned to another high-profile case involving deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act.
“I’ve come to understand that some questions have been raised regarding this Court’s random assignment system,” the judge said. “So given the public interest that’s involved in cases that have been filed in this court, I thought it might be useful to briefly explain it on the record.”
Boasberg said that judges are assigned cases randomly to ensure an even distribution across various categories, including antitrust, federal records acts, and employment matters.
President Donald Trump invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act to expedite the arrest and deportation of Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members. Boasberg, though, quickly issued a temporary injunction against Trump’s action, although three planes carrying 238 suspected and confirmed TdA members and 23 MS-13 members still landed at El Salvador International Airport hours later.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Tucker Carlson Network)
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