Latest news with #PresidentialRecordsAct
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
DOJ dismisses Biden-era records lawsuit against Peter Navarro
The Justice Department on Tuesday agreed to dismiss a lawsuit seeking records from White House senior trade adviser Peter Navarro's time in the first Trump administration, brought during President Biden's presidency. In a short notice, government lawyers stipulated to the dismissal of the 2022 lawsuit seeking emails Navarro sent from a personal encrypted account but refused to produce to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They agreed to dismiss the action with prejudice, meaning the claim can't be brought again. The court filing gave no explanation for the decision. The Presidential Records Act requires any records generated or received while working in an official capacity — including those sent or received on unofficial accounts — be turned over at the end of an administration. A federal judge ruled against Navarro and ordered him to turn over the records. Then, a three-judge panel on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals found 'no public interest' in his retention of the records. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who oversaw the case, threatened in February 2024 to hold Navarro in contempt of court for defying her order to turn over the documents. He appealed to the Supreme Court, but the justices in December ultimately declined to weigh his bid to reverse the order. In Navarro's petition to the justices, he argued he initially planned to comply with NARA's request but later sought immunity to produce the documents after he was criminally charged for evading a congressional subpoena. Navarro was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress in 2023 for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. He was sentenced to four months in prison, which he completed in July. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
7 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Justice Dept. Drops Biden-Era Push to Obtain Peter Navarro's Emails
The Justice Department has abruptly dropped its effort to force Peter Navarro, President Trump's trade adviser, to turn over hundreds of his emails dating to the first Trump administration to the National Archives, according to a court filing on Tuesday. The decision to drop the civil lawsuit was disclosed in a one-page notice filed in Federal District Court in the District of Columbia. The department offered no explanation for the move, but it is one of many recent actions it has taken to dismiss criminal and civil actions taken against Trump allies. Mr. Navarro, 75, had long resisted the government's request that he give the archives emails from his personal ProtonMail account relating to his role as a White House adviser, as required by the Presidential Records Act. Defiance is Mr. Navarro's default. He served about four months in the geriatric unit of a federal prison in Miami after refusing to comply with a subpoena to appear before a congressional committee investigating his false claims about the 2020 election. In 2022, the Biden Justice Department sued Mr. Navarro, one of the main architects of Mr. Trump's second-term tariff policy, to retrieve the communications. The lawsuit charged him with 'wrongfully retaining presidential records that are the property of the United States, and which constitute part of the permanent historical record of the prior administration.' The lawsuit accused Mr. Navarro of using his private email account to conduct public work, including an effort to influence the White House response to the pandemic. Those emails were needed to preserve the historical record, officials at the archives said. Mr. Navarro unsuccessfully petitioned the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit last year. A federal magistrate judge earlier reviewed about 900 messages, determining that more than 500 were not presidential records. He ordered additional hearings to decide how many of the remaining 350-plus emails needed to be turned over to the government. Mr. Navarro's lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment. Stanley Woodward, who represented Mr. Navarro in both his civil and criminal cases, recused himself after Mr. Trump appointed him in April to serve as associate attorney general.
The Hill
7 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
DOJ dismisses Biden-era records lawsuit against Peter Navarro
The Justice Department on Tuesday agreed to dismiss a lawsuit seeking records from White House senior trade adviser Peter Navarro's time in the first Trump administration, brought during President Biden's presidency. In a short notice, government lawyers stipulated to the dismissal of the 2022 lawsuit seeking emails Navarro sent from a personal encrypted account but refused to produce to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They agreed to dismiss the action with prejudice, meaning the claim can't be brought again. The court filing gave no explanation for the decision. The Presidential Records Act requires any records generated or received while working in an official capacity — including those sent or received on unofficial accounts — be turned over at the end of an administration. A federal judge ruled against Navarro and ordered him to turn over the records. Then, a three-judge panel on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals found 'no public interest' in his retention of the records. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who oversaw the case, threatened in February 2024 to hold Navarro in contempt of court for defying her order to turn over the documents. He appealed to the Supreme Court, but the justices in December ultimately declined to weigh his bid to reverse the order. In Navarro's petition to the justices, he argued he initially planned to comply with NARA's request but later sought immunity to produce the documents after he was criminally charged for evading a congressional subpoena. Navarro was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress in 2023 for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. He was sentenced to four months in prison, which he completed in July.
Newsweek
02-05-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
What Is TeleMessage? Mike Waltz Reportedly Caught Using Obscure App
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Outgoing National Security Advisor Mike Waltz was photographed during a Cabinet meeting using an app labeled "TM SGNL". The app, which appeared to be a modified version of the encrypted messaging app Signal developed by the company TeleMessage, is designed to archive encrypted communications, a requirement for official communications under federal records law. Why It Matters While encrypted messaging apps are widely used for secure communication, they pose compliance challenges under federal transparency laws. The Presidential Records Act requires that official communications by government officials be preserved. In March, Waltz came under scrutiny after reports emerged that he and other senior members of the Trump administration had used Signal to discuss classified military operations. One such group chat inadvertently included The Atlantic's editor-in-chief. On Thursday, it was announced that Waltz would be resigning as national security advisor. What To Know TeleMessage is a tech company acquired last year by the communications compliance firm Smarsh, which offers a service that replicates popular encrypted messaging apps. Federal procurement records show the U.S. government has purchased licenses from TeleMessage for archiving encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal, according to reports from 404 Media. TeleMessage's TM SGNL variant modifies the open-source Signal platform to add archiving capabilities. On Wednesday, an image of Waltz's phone, taken while he attended a Cabinet meeting that day, was published by Reuters. In the photo, the device displayed message threads with individuals such as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Michael Waltz looks at his phone as he prepares for a TV interview at the White House on May 01, 2025 in Washington, DC. Michael Waltz looks at his phone as he prepares for a TV interview at the White House on May 01, 2025 in Washington, DC. Getty Images Although encryption is essential for secure communication, unmanaged messaging apps such as Signal are generally prohibited by the Department of Defense for handling sensitive or non-public information. However, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly has said Signal remains "an approved app for government use and is loaded on government phones." On May 1, President Donald Trump nominated Waltz to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations after removing him from the role of national security adviser. Rubio is set to serve as Walz's interim replacement. What People Are Saying President Donald Trump told The Atlantic on April 24: "I think we learned: Maybe don't use Signal, okay? If you want to know the truth. I would frankly tell these people not to use Signal, although it's been used by a lot of people. But, whatever it is, whoever has it, whoever owns it, I wouldn't want to use it." John Bolton, Donald Trump's former national security advisor, in Wall Street Journal opinion piece: "Not in my experience have emojis been deployed as they were during the inexplicable group chat on Signal. For Mr. Trump, however, chaos is embedded in his DNA and endemic in his team." What Happens Next Congress must confirm Waltz's nomination before he can assume the role of UN ambassador.
Yomiuri Shimbun
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
‘Signalgate' Needs to Be Investigated, Says Ex-Deputy Spokesperson for U.S. Defense Department
Courtesy of Sabrina Singh Sabrina Singh, former U.S. deputy press secretary at the Defense Department WASHINGTON — Sabrina Singh, who served as the U.S. Defense Department's deputy press secretary under former President Joe Biden, said in an online interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided classified information on U.S. military operations through the Signal messaging service, and labeled the behavior 'egregious.' Singh called for a bipartisan congressional investigation into the so-called Signalgate scandal. The controversy surrounding use of the app by U.S. government officials has raised questions about the sloppy management of information in the administration of President Donald Trump. The following excerpts from the interview have been edited for flow and clarity. *** The Yomiuri Shimbun: Do you think the details provided by Hegseth were classified information? Sabrina Singh: Secretary Hegseth's comments and texts in that Signal chat were about a military operation that hadn't even begun. So anytime you're talking about an operation before it starts, all of those details are classified. The fact that Pete Hegseth put details about the operation into an unsecure, unclassified Signal chat that could have been intercepted by our adversaries really put at risk our pilots' lives and the operation. What makes this so egregious is this wasn't just some individual; this was the secretary of defense, who's supposed to safeguard and protect the lives of our service members, our men and women in uniform, and our civilians that support them as well. And so to have the entire national security apparatus on a Signal chat, sharing classified information about an operation, you know it's very serious. Yomiuri: Have you ever seen similar problems before? Singh: No, certainly not. I mean, not during my time in the previous administration. We would never use Signal. Even though it's an encrypted app, it's not a secure app. It's not a classified system. It is still prone to hacking, to messages being intercepted by adversaries or cyber hacking groups. Signal allows you the ability to delete messages. You know, you can set a timer, so it doesn't even comply with the Presidential Records Act, which allows for safekeeping of everything that goes on in an administration, so that's a problem also in and of itself. Yomiuri: How do U.S. government officials exchange information on sensitive matters? Singh: The secretary of defense in his office has multiple classified systems available to him at all times. So he has two different classified phone systems. He also has a classified way of conducting a video conference. If the president is in the [White House] Situation Room and the secretary is at his desk, he can easily have a video call with the president over a secure line. And then, of course, there's classified email systems, and those range from secret to a top-secret classification. From an unclassified email system, you cannot forward a message to a classified system. And vice versa, a classified email cannot be forwarded to an unclassified system. The secretary of defense, and I think, a majority of the people on that thread, that Signal chat, also have access to classified computers at their homes and classified devices on their person at all times. So there is really no excuse. Yomiuri: How do you find the impact of Signalgate on U.S. allies and partner countries? Singh: I think that something like this would certainly make partners and allies question how they share intelligence with the United States, because these are the highest-ranking members of the Cabinet talking about classified information before an operation. So that is going to really test the relationship with partners and allies. Can they trust the secretary that, if there is a joint operation, he's not going to put, classified information into a chat that could get intercepted by China or Russia or Iran? Yomiuri: The Defense Department's Office of the Inspector General said that it would investigate whether the use of the app by Hegseth and other U.S. officials was appropriate. What should Congress do? Singh: This should not be a partisan issue. This really should be a bipartisan issue where both sides of the aisle can come together and say how this was not handled right, and we need to investigate this. Congress needs to play a role in making sure that our civilians, our men and women in uniform, our sources and methods on how we collect intelligence, are protected and safeguarded. Congress should be investigating this. The acting inspector general at DOD has opened an investigation as well. So that's a good thing. — This interview was conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Takayuki Fuchigami and Riley Martinez on April 4.
