Judge James Boasberg instructed five officials under President
Donald Trump
‘Cabinet members were asked on Thursday to preserve their Signal messages ranging from March 11 to March 15 as part of a lawsuit claiming they breached federal record-keeping regulations.’
A
Department of Justice
The attorney informed Boabserg that they had already begun preserving the records and were compliant with his request. However, they also mentioned a caveat: the Cabinet members might not be able to retrieve certain messages due to the use of an encrypted messaging application with an automatic deletion feature.
“A DOJ lawyer informed the judge that we are still in the process of identifying which records exist,” they stated.
The directive was issued as part of the preliminary stage of a complaint filed earlier this week by the liberal non-profit organization American Oversight, following The Atlantic’s revealing report on how Cabinet members utilized Signal to talk about their impending plan to execute airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
The complaint stated that the officials failed to appropriately retain Signal messages, with some being completely deleted via the auto-delete feature, thus contravening the Federal Records Act.
Boasberg requested a progress report by March 31. As he issued his directive, he stated, “I will put this in writing—don’t concern yourself,” simultaneously casting a sidelong glance at the DOJ. The department had previously claimed in an unrelated and controversial case that only Boasberg’s written orders, rather than verbal ones, hold legal weight.
This case represents the second instance where Judge Boasberg, appointed during President Barack Obama’s tenure and serving as the chief judge of Washington’s district court, was randomly assigned a matter involving the Trump administration and raising concerns about the handling of sensitive national security data.
The judge has become a top target of Trump’s attacks after Boasberg temporarily enjoined the president from carrying out deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a powerful wartime law.
The president and his supporters have questioned whether Boasberg was randomly selected for the Signal case. On Thursday, Trump posted on social media stating that this is Boasberg’s fourth case involving him, describing it as “statistically impossible.” However, Boasberg’s office confirmed on Wednesday that the judge’s assignment was indeed random.
During the hearing, Boasberg discussed what he termed as increased public attention regarding the allocation procedure. He clarified that he had been randomly assigned to the case and stated, “The random assignment is carried out through an automated system.”
JUDGE JAMES BOASBERG, THE ONE WHO STOPPED TRUMP’S DEPORTATION POLICIES, HAS BEEN TASKED WITH HANDLING THE SIGNALLING CASE
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, informed the Washington Examiner that according to his knowledge of the D.C. court system, Trump’s suggestion that Boasberg being assigned to the case was not mere chance “is completely false.”
[Boasberg is] very much a stickler for following procedures, quite bound by rules, so he wouldn’t even consider an alternative approach,” Tobias stated, further noting that “the responsibility lies entirely with the court’s clerk, who handles task allocations. This individual enjoys significant independence from the judges when it comes to both appearance and actuality. It’s crucial that these assignments remain impartial.
