Trump Officials Face Lawsuit Over Secret Signal Chat on Houthi Strikes

A government watchdog group has filed a lawsuit against several high-ranking Trump administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, for allegedly violating federal records laws by using the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

The Lawsuit and Allegations

The lawsuit, filed by American Oversight in a federal court in Washington, D.C., claims that officials used an unclassified commercial app to discuss sensitive military operations—an act that the group argues bypassed legal requirements for preserving government records.

The controversy erupted when it was revealed that The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly included in the Signal group chat, exposing details of the internal discussions.

In its legal filing, American Oversight named several top officials in addition to Hegseth, including:

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard

CIA Director John Ratcliffe

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

Secretary of State and Acting Archivist Marco Rubio

The nonprofit watchdog group has stated that it is seeking to “recover unlawfully deleted messages and prevent further destruction.”

“The Federal Records Act requires federal officials to preserve communications related to official government business,” American Oversight said in a statement. “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.”

A “Five-Alarm Fire” for Government Accountability

Chioma Chukwu, interim executive director of American Oversight, described the situation as a grave concern.

“The 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,” Chukwu said in a statement, as per a report from Axios.

White House Responds, Officials Defend Their Actions

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz admitted to setting up the Signal group chat and took responsibility for the mishap. Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Waltz acknowledged the mistake and assured that the administration was no longer using the encrypted app for such discussions.

“We made a mistake,” Waltz said. “Lessons were learned, and we’re not using [Signal] anymore.”

President Trump, addressing the issue, defended Waltz, saying he did not plan to fire him over the incident. In an interview with Newsmax, Trump suggested that someone who worked with Waltz at a lower level might have had Goldberg’s phone number, which led to his accidental inclusion in the chat.

Senate Inquiry and Security Concerns

Both Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday to answer questions about the Signal discussions. They testified that no classified information was shared in the group chat and agreed to an independent audit of the conversation to confirm this claim.

However, the controversy has sparked concerns about how high-ranking officials handle sensitive national security matters and whether sufficient safeguards are in place to prevent such incidents in the future.

As the lawsuit progresses, the case could have broader implications for government transparency, records management, and the use of encrypted messaging apps in official communications.