US District Court Judge James Boasberg, already at the crosshairs of the Trump administration in a legal battle over deportation policies, has now been assigned to the “Signalgate” lawsuit involving top officials accused of mishandling sensitive national security communications.
According to a Wednesday Forbes insight, the case filed on Tuesday by government watchdog group American Oversight focuses on members of Trump’s cabinet using the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss military operations.
The lawsuit alleges that officials violated the Federal Records Act by failing to prevent the automatic deletion of messages containing classified military plans.
Boasberg, whom Trump is at loggerheads with for blocking deportation flights earlier this month, confirmed to Politico that his assignment to the case was random under the court’s usual procedures.
National security officials accused of mishandling military secrets
As reported by Cryptopolitan, the lawsuit lists several officials in Trump’s cabinet as defendants, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
It also names the National Archives and Records Administration, which is responsible for properly maintaining US federal records.
The administration’s problems began when The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed that he was inadvertently included in a Signal group chat involving Trump’s national security team.
According to Goldberg, Defense Secretary Hegseth disclosed the planned start time for a US military strike targeting a Houthi militant in Yemen on March 15. Earlier this week, Hegseth denied the claims, saying, “Nobody was texting war plans.”
The revelation that sensitive military operations were discussed on a commercial non-profit messaging app, possibly on personal cellphones, might not end well for Washington. Democratic lawmakers have called for the immediate removal of the officials involved on the grounds of “dangers to national security.”
Yet, the Trump administration has refuted the allegations and bashed The Atlantic’s reporting, calling it “another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin.”
“Best place to hide a dead body is page 2 of The Atlantic magazine, because no one ever goes there,” said Elon Musk in a March 24 X post.
President Trump wants Boasberg impeached
Trump’s frustration with Boasberg over the deportation case led him to publicly call for the judge’s impeachment, a sentiment that Chief US Supreme Court Justice John Roberts did not agree with.
“Impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said, reiterating that the legal system has options for appeals, and Boasberg’s ruling does not require political retaliation.
More woes mount for President Trump as a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, on Wednesday rejected the White House’s attempt to overturn Boasberg’s decision. The court asserted that the administration had overstepped legal boundaries by continuing deportation flights, ignoring the judge’s injunction.
On March 15, Boasberg initially ordered the administration to turn around the flights mid-air, but three planes had already landed, leading to the imprisonment of the deportees, mostly Venezuelans, in El Salvador.
In response, administration lawyers have refused to answer Boasberg’s questions about the flights. In a court filing on Monday, officials invoked the “state secrets” privilege, arguing that “disclosure would pose reasonable danger to national security and foreign affairs.”
The administration has coined the deportations legal under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used law that gives the president authority to remove foreign nationals during wartime. Trump invoked the act for only the fourth time in US history, using it to justify the deportation of immigrants suspected of criminal activity.
Still, Boasberg has pressed the administration for answers, demanding that Justice Department lawyers explain why his ruling was ignored. In a subsequent filing, administration attorneys instructed Boasberg to “be more respectful” in his requests.
The judge responded by describing their tone as “intemperate and disrespectful,” propounding that he had never encountered such defiance from government lawyers in his court.
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This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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