Overview

• Images of Signal texts, captured in a public setting in Minnesota, show Stephen Miller aide Anthony Salisbury discussing Portland with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s adviser Patrick Weaver.
• Weaver wrote that Hegseth wanted presidential “top cover” for sending troops and cautioned that deploying the 82nd Airborne would generate headlines, while indicating a preference for the National Guard.
• The administration did not deploy the 82nd Airborne and instead sent 200 National Guard members on September 28, a move now challenged in lawsuits by Oregon and the city of Portland.
• The White House defended Salisbury’s conduct and described the exchanges as private and non-classified, noting he was in Minnesota for a family funeral.
• Legal experts cited in the reporting said the use of Signal for such deliberations could run afoul of the Federal Records Act and potentially other statutes.