Trump officials face records lawsuit over Signal chat
A government watchdog group is suing national security leaders for their use of Signal to discuss military actions, saying the move violated the Federal Records Act (FRA).
The suit from American Oversight, which routinely files public records requests, said the move obstructs their ability to access government documents.
The Atlantic revealed Monday that National Security Advisor Michael Waltz had added reporter Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat to discuss a pending military action in Yemen.
Beyond the national security implications, federal employees are required to retain records in accordance with the law.
“This reported disclosure of sensitive military information in a Signal group chat that included a journalist is a five-alarm fire for government accountability and potentially a crime,” Chioma Chukwu, American Oversight’s interim executive director, said in a statement.
“War planning doesn’t belong in emoji-laden disappearing group chats. It belongs in secure facilities designed to safeguard national interests — something any responsible government official should have known. Our lawsuit seeks to ensure these federal records are preserved and recovered. The American people deserve answers and we won’t stop until we get them.”
The suit said it puts the officials “on notice” — and while it is not brought directly under the FRA, it points to a provision of the Administrative Procedures Act allowing for review of unlawful actions regarding records.
“The APA also authorizes the Court to entertain a claim that the head of the [agency] or the Archivist have breached their statutory obligations to take enforcement action to prevent an agency official from improperly destroying records or to recover records unlawfully removed from the agency,” the suit states.