Trump Administration's Signal Message Use Sparks Legal Battle Over Transparency
Wired
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Contributed by: Drex DeFord
Summary
Attorneys from the group American Oversight are suing the U.S. government regarding the use of disappearing Signal messages for military coordination in Yemen, alleging that recent court filings indicate a strategy by Trump administration officials to avoid transparency laws. They argue that these encrypted communications violate the Federal Records Act, highlighting inconsistencies in the government's preservation efforts, particularly from the CIA, which claims it has archived no meaningful communications. The issue gained attention after an unintentional group chat inclusion by The Atlantic's editor revealed discussions on military actions, prompting Freedom of Information Act requests and legal actions to preserve any non-deleted messages. Court filings also disclosed a chaotic compliance process across various agencies in response to preservation orders, resulting in significant delays.
