NATSEC officials sued over Signal chat
By E.C. Browne
A new lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia accuses several senior Trump administration officials of failing to preserve government records created through a Signal group chat in March 2025. The suit, brought by the nonpartisan watchdog American Oversight, targets Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John L. Ratcliffe, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco A. Rubio (in both of his capacities as Secretary of State and Acting Archivist of the United States), and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). American Oversight alleges that these officials violated the Federal Records Act (FRA) by using the disappearing-message function on Signal to discuss sensitive military operations, including U.S. strikes in Yemen, without maintaining proper archives.
In its complaint, American Oversight argues that Signal, an encrypted messaging platform, automatically deletes communications unless individual users take steps to save them. Such self-erasing messages, the group contends, undermine federal requirements that government officials preserve evidence of policy decisions and agency operations. The watchdog also asserts that this practice deprives the public of access to critical records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
According to the lawsuit, the Signal chat at the center of the case ran from March 11 to March 15 and included discussions about impending U.S. military action in Yemen. A reporter from The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to the conversation. In doing so, Goldberg reportedly witnessed top officials coordinate national security plans through an app that can destroy records before they can be retrieved by the government or requested by the public.
American Oversight highlights that its own FOIA requests for agency communications have gone unanswered in several instances, prompting concern that records linked to this Signal group chat and potentially many others are either missing or already lost. The complaint contends that the officials involved did not notify the Acting Archivist or the Attorney General about the potential destruction of records, as the FRA requires. The group is now asking a federal court to compel the recovery of any disappearing messages, mandate compliance with recordkeeping laws, and enjoin the officials from future similar conduct.
As part of the lawsuit, American Oversight also cites agency rules that explicitly bar the use of third-party apps like Signal for non-public government information, especially when it pertains to national security. The watchdog contends that the breach could have broader implications, leaving the door open to future lapses in recordkeeping and preventing the public from understanding how major defense and foreign policy decisions are reached.
Named officials have thus far declined to comment in detail on the case. In earlier public statements, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth insisted that “nobody was texting war plans,” though American Oversight claims the entire episode highlights the dangers of allowing key decisions to be conducted over a platform designed to erase its own history. Whether the messages in question still exist—and whether they will be handed over—may now be decided in court.
