Newsletter: The Latest on Our Signalgate Lawsuit


Democratic accountability is at risk when public officials conduct government business on secretive platforms — particularly when those platforms are designed to erase records.

That’s why this week, following bombshell reporting ([link removed]) that top Trump administration officials used the ephemeral messaging app Signal to discuss a military attack in Yemen — and mistakenly included the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg ([link removed]) in the group chat — we filed a lawsuit ([link removed]) against top Trump officials for violations of the Federal Records Act (FRA) and the Administrative Procedure Act.
* The suit ([link removed]) , filed Tuesday, names Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State and acting Archivist Marco Rubio — who were all included in the Signal chat — as defendants.
* It seeks to prevent further unlawful destruction of federal records and to compel the recovery of any records created through the officials’ unauthorized use of Signal.
* We also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order ([link removed]) to immediately halt any further destruction of federal records regarding the Trump administration’s use of Signal.

The court granted our request on Thursday, ordering Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, Bessent, and Rubio to preserve all Signal communications from March 11 through March 15 in compliance with the FRA, which requires federal officials to preserve communications related to official government business.
* Judge James Boasberg also ordered the government to file a status report by Monday describing the implementation of their preservation obligations.
* Boasberg has faced attacks from Trump and his administration for blocking the president’s efforts to deport Venezuelan immigrants in another case he is presiding over. Those attacks have ramped up since Boasberg was randomly assigned ([link removed]) to our lawsuit this week.
* “It shouldn’t matter who is overseeing this case or any others. What matters is whether or not there is a violation of the law,” our interim executive director Chioma Chukwu told MSNBC ([link removed]) Thursday.

According to the FRA, if federal records are unlawfully removed or destroyed and the agency head fails to initiate recovery efforts, the U.S. archivist — currently Rubio — must ask the attorney general to initiate a process to recover the records.
* The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been a primary target of Trump’s second-term retribution tour ([link removed]) , having been at the center of the criminal case against Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents when he left office in 2021. We’re still in court fighting for the release of the Justice Department’s report on the criminal investigation — read more about that case here ([link removed]) .
* Upon returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump wasted little time in purging NARA’s top leadership to make room for loyal officials like Rubio, who are more likely to do his bidding — or even to turn a blind eye to future legal violations.
* Trump’s targeting of NARA, a nonpolitical, nonpartisan agency that ensures executive branch actions are documented and made available to the public, endangers both the preservation of government documents and our nation’s historical record remaining free from partisan political interference.

“We know that it’s a first step,” said Chukwu yesterday ([link removed]) . “There’s a lot more work to be done here.” Support our work and join the fight for our democracy. ([link removed])

On the Records

Missouri AG Bailey's Contacts with Anti-Abortion Rights Groups
We’ve been investigating public officials’ and conservative interest groups’ efforts to restrict abortion rights ([link removed]) and undermine democracy by sabotaging ballot measures ([link removed]) . Records we obtained ([link removed]) from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office shed light on his interactions with far-right anti-abortion rights groups like Missouri Right to Life, Project Veritas, and the Heritage Foundation.
* One document ([link removed]) , a March 2023 memo prepared by Students for Life, outlined ways Bailey could strategically target medication abortion in Missouri by citing consumer protection laws. The records also suggest ([link removed]) that Bailey met with Students for Life to discuss the memo.

This month, Bailey sent cease and desist ([link removed]) orders to Missouri’s two Planned Parenthood affiliates, demanding they stop offering medication abortions — which the clinics have not been offering thanks to delays in approvals from the state health department.
* Bailey’s orders falsely claimed the clinics were performing medication abortions without having approved complication plans. In warning letters ([link removed]) Bailey sent ([link removed].) to the affiliates, he claimed authority to stop actions that violate the state’s consumer protection laws, aligning with the strategy laid out in the Students for Life memo.
* The orders are Bailey’s most recent effort to undercut the state’s recently passed ballot initiative ([link removed]) enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution.
* Bailey’s actions also indicate the lengths he is willing to go to reject voters’ support for abortion rights, including exploiting misinformation about safe methods of pregnancy termination.

Other Stories We’re Following
Trump Administration Accountability
* HHS cuts 10,000 employees in major overhaul of health agencies (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Internal White House document details layoff plans across U.S. agencies (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Noem says she plans to ‘eliminate FEMA’ (The Hill ([link removed]) )
* HHS sued for cutting program that provides legal aid for migrant children (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* Trump family crypto venture to launch a stablecoin (Politico ([link removed]) )
* NIH ends future funding to study the health effects of climate change (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* Trump administration plans to freeze family-planning grants (Wall Street Journal ([link removed]) )

DOGE
* DOGE says it needs to know the government's most sensitive data, but can't say why (NPR ([link removed]) )
* DOGE removes details on canceled USAID contracts from its online ‘wall of receipts’ (CBS News ([link removed]) )
* Forgoing oversight, Republicans resort to personal appeals to head off DOGE cuts (New York Times ([link removed]) )

Voting Rights and Election Denial
* RNC asks states for details about their voter files, part of a larger effort to question elections (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Trump is trying to gain more power over elections. Is his effort legal? (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Georgia bill gives power to State Election Board and enacts its rules (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )

* Georgia is planning one of the largest cancellations of voter registrations in U.S. history (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )
* Georgia’s next voting system? Senators seek paper ballots filled out by hand (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )
* Governor allows proof of voter residency, citizenship requirement to become law without signature (WyoFile ([link removed]) )
* New Hampshire election offers preview of barriers posed by SAVE Act (Votebeat ([link removed]) )

In the States
* DeSantis warns he has ‘tools’ including suspending local officials if they don’t cooperate with ICE (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Florida may loosen child-labor laws as state cracks down on illegal immigration (Miami Herald ([link removed]) )
* New York county clerk blocks Texas court filing against doctor over abortion pills (New York Times ([link removed]) )

LGBTQ Rights
* Transgender Americans aim to block Trump’s passport policy change (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* What happens when a Chicago hospital bows to federal pressure on trans care for teens (NPR ([link removed]) )

Civil Rights
* Turkish student at Tufts University detained, video shows masked people handcuffing her (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* U.S. lodges new accusations against detained Columbia protest leader (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Immigration agents arrested a U.S. citizen and created warrants after an arrest, lawyers say in court (Chicago Sun-Times ([link removed]) )

Government Transparency and Public Records Law
* White House scraps public spending database (Roll Call ([link removed]) )

Immigration
* Under pressure from Trump, ICE is pushing legal boundaries (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* Trump administration cites Alien Enemies Act as it plans new extraditions (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* 'Nazis got better treatment,' judge says of Trump administration's Alien Enemies Act deportations (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* Trump asks Supreme Court to overturn Boasberg’s ruling blocking him from using the Alien Enemies Act for deportations (CNN ([link removed]) )
* As Trump broadens crackdown, focus expands to legal immigrants and tourists (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Despite refugee status in the U.S., young Venezuelan was deported to Salvadoran prison (Miami Herald ([link removed]) )

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Thank you again for following our latest news. We are grateful for your support and for helping us hold government accountable.

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