Signalgate 2.0: After Hegseth's leaked Signal chat, watchdog files suit to preserve Trump officials' messages
A nonprofit watchdog group, American Oversight, expanded a lawsuit on Monday aimed at several senior national security officials in the Trump administration, requesting a federal judge to mandate the preservation of all messages sent via the encrypted communications app Signal.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Washington, DC, and focuses on messages related to official business that have been sent using Signal, an app with an auto-delete feature and no apparent record-keeping system for federal records.
The amended lawsuit follows a New York Times report revealing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details about military strikes in Yemen on March 15 in a private Signal group chat.
The chat, which also included Hegseth's wife, brother, and personal lawyer, was part of a broader issue of government officials using Signal for official communications.
The suit expands on an earlier version filed by American Oversight in response to the revelation that Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Vice President JD Vance were part of a separate Signal chat where they discussed sensitive matters about military strikes in Yemen against Houthi rebels.
The lawsuit contends that the use of Signal by top officials for official government business is widespread and may violate federal records retention requirements.
American Oversight's new request asks Judge James Boasberg, who is overseeing the case, to preserve messages sent by or received from Hegseth, Ratcliffe, and other officials, including National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Late last month, Boasberg had already ordered the preservation of messages from the "Houthi PC Small Group Chat," where officials discussed the Yemen strikes.
Hegseth's use of Signal for these communications raised further concern when it was revealed that a second chat—dubbed 'Defense 'Team Huddle''—included details of the same Yemen strikes and involved 13 individuals, including Hegseth's family members and other personal associates.
The group was not authorized to use Signal for sensitive or classified information, raising questions about the handling of government communication.
In response, the White House and Pentagon dismissed concerns, accusing former employees of spreading false information. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly argued that "no classified information was shared" in the chats and claimed that disgruntled ex-employees were attempting to undermine the administration.
President Donald Trump publicly defended Hegseth, calling any concerns over his actions a "waste of time." Speaking on the South Lawn after the Easter Egg Roll, Trump expressed confidence in Hegseth's handling of military operations. "He's doing a great job – ask the Houthis how he's doing," Trump remarked, referring to the Yemen rebel group targeted in the strikes.
Trump's backing of Hegseth is part of a broader pattern of standing by his top officials, despite controversies.
Sources close to the president have stated that Trump is determined to resist any pressure to dismiss Hegseth, emphasizing that he does not want to provide satisfaction to "fake news" outlets by firing a key figure in his administration.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
16 minutes ago
- First Post
Biden 2.0? Trump, Rubio stumble while boarding Air Force One, netizens react
Netizens had a 'déjà vu' moment after US President Donald Trump stumbled while boarding Air Force One. In the past, Trump has often mocked Biden for struggling to climb stairs and ramps read more Trump stumbled as he made his way up the stairs of Air Force One on Sunday. AFP Netizens had a 'deja vu' moment when yet another President of the United States stumbled while boarding Air Force One. US President Donald Trump , who often mocked his predecessor Joe Biden for his old age and stumbles, tripped while boarding Air Force One, which was on its way to Camp David. The incident took place after Trump spoke to the reporters in Hagerstown, Maryland, where he was asked if he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to the protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles. 'Depends on whether or not there's an insurrection,' Trump replied . STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Apart from Trump, US Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio also stumbled while boarding the aircraft after Trump. In the past, Trump and his supporters frequently mocked former US President Joe Biden for the stumbles he took during his time in office. & Social media had a field day Netizens did not miss mocking the brief stumble of the American leader. 'I'm surprised he hasn't replaced those stairs with a portable escalator of some kind,' one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'Time to get Old Man Trump fitted for a wheelchair,' another exclaimed. I'm surprised he hasn't replaced those stairs with a portable escalator of some kind — RC Huffman (@RonaldH72994014) June 8, 2025 Meanwhile, a journalist pointed out the duplicity of standards. 'When Joe Biden did stuff like this, Fox would play the clips over and over like it was as significant as the moon landing,' journalist Aaron Rupar noted. 'Cannot wait for all the books and wall-to-wall coverage,' political strategist Marco Frieri quipped. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD When Joe Biden did stuff like this, Fox would play the clips over and over like it was as significant as the moon landing — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 8, 2025 In the summer of 2023, Trump mocked Biden for falling at the Air Force graduation ceremony in Colorado. He said it was 'not inspiring' for the graduates to have seen the then-president take a tumble over a sandbag. 'I hope he wasn't hurt. I hope he wasn't hurt…You don't want that,' said Trump during a campaign event in Iowa at that time. During his speech, he recalled the time when Biden tiptoed down a ramp in 2020 at the Army's West Point graduation ceremony. 'The whole thing is crazy, you have got to be careful about that, you don't want that even if you have to tiptoe down a ramp,' he said at the time. He added that the ramp was 'like an ice-skating rink.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
News18
29 minutes ago
- News18
Donald Trump Trips On Air Force One Steps, Internet Reminds Him Of Joe Biden Jab
Last Updated: Donald Trump tripped while boarding Air Force One in New Jersey, just after addressing reporters about invoking the Insurrection Act. Social media erupted with reactions. US President Donald Trump tripped while boarding Air Force One before departure from Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey. Moments later, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also stumbled on the same staircase as he followed Trump. The incident happened on Sunday, shortly after the US President spoke to reporters on whether he would consider invoking the Insurrection Act in response to ongoing protests in Los Angeles following recent immigration raids. Videos widely being shared on social media showed Trump stumbling on the staircase of Air Force One. He, however, quickly regained his balance. These Air Force One ✈️ stairs are apparently faulty 🤷🏼♀️President Trump was the first to fall victim, immediately followed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. WATCH 👇🏻 — MAGA Kitty (@SaveUSAKitty) June 8, 2025 Meanwhile, social media users were quick to remind Trump of his earlier remark on former President Joe Biden, who, too, had once stumbled on the stairs of Air Force One. 'Joe Biden can't even walk up a flight of stairs on Air Force One… We have somebody that doesn't have a clue representing us," Trump had then remarked. 'It's funny how the words he uses as an attack on others always seem to come back around on him," a comment on one of the videos of Donald Trump read. Before his departure, Trump spoke to reporters about the violent protests in Los Angeles, where demonstrators torched cars and scuffled with security forces. He later ordered the deployment of National Guard troops, which were sent to the streets of the second biggest US city. Unrest broke out for a third day, with protestors angry at action by immigration officials that has resulted in dozens of arrests of what authorities say are illegal migrants and gang members. The raids — which began in broad daylight in a city with a large Latino population — were always likely to spark a reaction among the public in the liberal city.
Mint
31 minutes ago
- Mint
The Trump effect: ABB sees companies extending clean energy transition targets as a new reality sets in
Swedish-Swiss engineering giant ABB Ltd sees firms across the world move to more realistic targets across sectors for transition to cleaner energy technologies amid sentiments changing globally post Donald Trump's return as US president earlier this year. The company, which is the largest electrical equipment manufacturer in India by market capitalization, sees timelines of transition shifting ahead due to the realisation that the previously set targets were unrealistic, as per a senior company executive. 'I think we were kind of as a global society, a little unrealistic in how fast that transition is going to happen,' said Brandon Spencer, president of ABB's motion business and a member of its group executive committee. Unlike previous transitions where the world moved towards cheaper sources, Spencer argued that this transition is happening because it's good for the planet. 'We see timelines pushed to the right now. I think it has come back to more realism than maybe over optimism,' Spencer said. The expected shift in timelines come amid cuts in climate spending in the world's largest economy. In a recent spending bill introduced and passed by the US Congress, tax credits for low carbon emission sources were eliminated. Moreover, the bill promoted by the Trump administration also cut incentives for electric vehicles. This came months after the US pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Spencer is not alone in seeing climate transition timelines changing. Jérôme Sevin, partner and global lead for energy and process industry at consulting firm Kearney, earlier told Mint in an interview that progress on energy transition will be delayed due to Trump's push for oil and gas production. The US and Europe have targets to turn carbon neutral by 2050. India has set a target of 2070 to turn carbon neutral. Although the wind is changing in the global markets, players like ABB do not see any impact on its business. 'For the motion business in ABB, we supply to every single one of those industries. So, for us and with the diversity that we have, it doesn't matter which one of those is a winner or not, because every single one of them needs motors, drives, generators in order to power that industry forward,' Spencer said. ABB's motion business is mainly in the business of making industrial motors used in powering machinery and equipment at industrial plants. It has four manufacturing units in India and its major customers in the country include Tata Steel Ltd, Witt India, ArcelorMittal, and JSW Steel. In 2024, ABB's motion business posted a revenue of ₹ 4,287 crore in India, up from ₹ 3,785 crore in the year before. Spencer explained that the key point in ABB's pitch has to be the fact that its solutions are not only more sustainable but also the fact that they lead to considerable cost savings. 'We just sold a synchronous motor that's going on a compressor for an Indian steel application. And it's 99.13% efficient, which is leading to $6 million in electricity cost savings across its lifetime,' he said. Another headwind for companies across the world has been the looming threat of the Trump administration's decision to impose reciprocal tariffs across the world. ABB, which works with companies such as INOX, Sulzer, and Ingersoll Rand that export from the Indian market to the US and West Asia, expects its local-for-local strategy will help. About 10% of ABB's total ₹ 12,188 crore revenue came from exports in the Indian market. The company does not disclose how much it exported from its motion business. But its investor presentation post the announcement of financial year 2024 results on 9 May suggested that tariff barriers will remain a challenge to watch out due to its impact on supply chains. 'Our strategy hasn't changed just because the current wind has changed. You know our strategy needs to be more robust than that short of a cycle,' Spencer said. 'We will take care of the local market for growth, but if we can export from here, there is a competitive advantage; we will do that and we will do it wherever it can make sense.'
