Overview

• U.S. District Judge James Boasberg denied American Oversight’s bid to recover deleted Signal messages after finding that destroyed chats cannot be retrieved.
• He ordered the acting National Archivist and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to preserve Signal records still at risk of deletion.
• Boasberg noted Bondi retains discretion to ignore the preservation request, leaving future enforcement uncertain.
• The lawsuit targeted five senior administration figures—including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and DNI Tulsi Gabbard—for using Signal to discuss a military strike on the Houthis.
• The decision highlights tensions between operational security, compliance with federal records laws, and government transparency on encrypted messaging.