Judge fighting Trump over El Salvador deportations assigned to lawsuit over Signal chat leak
A new lawsuit targeting President Donald Trump's administration over leaked Pentagon plans in a Signal chat has been assigned to Judge James Boasberg, the same judge who ordered a halt to the administration's deportation efforts.
The government watchdog group American Oversight filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others violated federal records laws by discussing Houthi attack plans in a Signal groupchat. The contest has now been randomly assigned to Boasberg, who serves on the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., condemned "rogue judges" like Boasberg in a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday. He has introduced legislation that would prohibit district-level judges from issuing nationwide injunctions like the one Boasberg used to block deportations.
"These judges have proven they care more about unlawfully knee-capping President Trump's agenda than accurately applying the facts to the law in each individual case. Congress can change that," he said.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., echoed Hawley in another statement to Fox, calling on Boasberg to recuse himself from the case.
"The bias Judge Boesberg has already demonstrated toward President Donald Trump and his administration is unmistakable.It is not a random act that Boesberg has the case and I don’t expect him to recuse himself, but that would be the best arrangement for the integrity of the court," Issa said.
HEGSETH FENDS OFF REPORTER'S QUESTIONS ABOUT SIGNAL CHAT LEAK
American Oversight says its lawsuit centers on the Federal Records Act, which "requires federal officials to preserve communications related to official government business."
"Generally, agencies ensure retention of messages sent on apps like Signal by setting policies requiring officials and personnel to forward them to official systems for proper archival or take other steps to preserve their content," it continued.
The lawsuit names Hegseth; Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as the National Archives and Records Administration, as defendants.
The lawsuit notes that Signal group chats can be set up to delete messages after a certain time threshold, leading to the possibility that certain records were illegally destroyed.
JEFFRIES BECOMES HIGHEST-RANKING DEMOCRAT TO CALL FOR HEGSETH TO RESIGN
Former federal prosecutor and legal analyst Andrew Cherkasky argued the assignment of the lawsuit to Boasberg is "legally provocative" and could discredit the D.C. District Court "for generations to come."
"With [Boasberg's] prior outrageous rulings under review by the Circuit Court, I don’t think it is wise to allow him more Trump injunction cases," Cherkasky told Fox News Digital.
Former Trump lawyer Alina Habba also condemned the lawsuit in a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
"This is another example of improper judicial political advocacy. The judicial system must not be weaponized any further to attempt to distract Americans from the amazing work of this Administration and our commitment to our National Security," Habba said.
Meanwhile, the White House has rejected claims that the groupchat's members used the app for "war planning," as has been described by various media outlets.
Gabbard emphasized during a Wednesday House Intelligence Committee hearing that no classified information was shared in the chat.
"It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added to a signal chat with high-level national security principles, having a policy discussion about imminent strikes against the Houthis and the effects of the strike," Gabbard said. "The national security advisor has taken full responsibility for this, and the National Security Council is conducting an in-depth review, along with tech technical experts working to determine how this reporter was inadvertently added to this chat."