U.S. judge in Trump deportation case assigned lawsuit over Signal scandal

Law firms that assist this group (and others) will see security clearances, government contracts and access to government buildings blocked for things related and not. Watch.

WH will fight fire with fire.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by a liberal-leaning government watchdog group, American Oversight, which argued that officials failed to implement measures to prevent the automatic deletion of messages in the Signal chat, in violation of their duties under the Federal Records Act.

Roast em good. Two can play at this lawfare game.

JJEToday  06:41 am JST

Law firms that assist this group (and others) will see security clearances, government contracts and access to government buildings blocked for things related and not. Watch.

WH will fight fire with fire.

I'm sure there are lawyers not dependent on the government able to take it to these manchildren.

The revelation that highly sensitive attack plans were shared on a commercial messaging app, possibly on personal cellphones, has triggered outrage in Washington and calls from Democrats that members of Trump's national security team be fired over the leaks.

And this clear breach of security has many families of military personnel concerned. It compromises their loved ones lives.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-signal-chat-security-veterans-family-reaction-b84fc74f7855653a582252d6ceee79ef

Also, it is such a blatant disregard for rules of conduct. Since its clear that this was done on private phones, and not secured government communication devices like burner phones, then you can be sure the Chinese and Russians have seen everything, especially since Witkoff was actually in Russia at the time.

Where was the Joint Chief of Staffs in all of this? In any military operation, they or another general or military leader is always involved.

Also, if they clearly are capable of having no disregard for airing secrets and sensitive information so openly, do they really think our allies would want to divulge any confidential information and share any intelligence with us in the future? Shame on you for fooling me once; shame on me for fooling me twice.

And if all of them are saying that Goldberg who reported all of this, is such a scumbag, then why did they invite him into the chatroom in the first place?

Finally, this is the one time we found out about it. How many other instances so far have they done this sort of thing? It's always the case that for every instance we know of, there are probably numerous other cases which have not been made public.

Trump with his usual line of it being a witch hunt.

I also watched the hearing yesterday. Waltz and Gabbard kept saying that there was no classified information shared. Yet, when asked what information was shared, they refused by stating that it was not appropriate to share it. If it's not classified, then it should be okay to be shared. Then, when asked a simple question like "Did you use a government approved secured phone, or your own?" all they could say was, they don't know. What?

Also, it is well-known that whenever there is a military operation such as this, where lives are being killed, there is always several meetings in person face-to-face to determine the ramifications and logistics of it. There is always a real military leader present. And no personal phones are allowed in that room whatsoever. Every caution is taken because a military operation is serious stuff. Lives are at stake. I mean, the U.S. government has the best equipment and facilities in the world at keeping things confidential and secret. Why not use them?

For Trump, and right-leaning media outlets to simply say it was all a mistake and that we should learn from it and move on is simply wrong. This is not an internship where you can learn as you go. It's like a surgeon in a real operation; you can't make a mistake and simply not expect any consequences. People's lives are at stake.

The simple answer is if a democrat does it, the world is shaken, but if a republican did it, oopsie, we all make mistakes. Because they don't care about anything but their own power grab.

U.S. judge in Trump deportation case assigned lawsuit over Signal scandal

But of course he was.

--U.S. judge in Trump deportation case assigned lawsuit over Signal scandal

But of course he was.

"The case was assigned to Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, through the court's usual random assignment process"

So unfair! As the President of the United States, Trump should be allowed to choose which judges to assign cases to. The Constitution is clear on this: POTUS is above the law and above the legislature.

“Republican lawmakers have filed resolutions seeking the impeachment of Boasberg and five other judges who have stymied Trump's agenda”

But just 2 weeks ago 47 said it should be/probably is illegal to criticize judges.

Was he wrong then or now?

just 2 weeks ago 47 said it should be/probably is illegal to criticize judges.

The good judges. The one's who let him do whatever he wants.

Trump with his usual line of it being a witch hunt.

Because it is.

"The case was assigned to Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, through the court's usual random assignment process"

ROFL!

So unfair! As the President of the United States, Trump should be allowed to choose which judges to assign cases to. The Constitution is clear on this: POTUS is above the law and above the legislature.

Yes, Speaker Johnson said the same thing about these judges. Anyway, relax this will all be sorted out soon enough.

That's correct. According to Pete Hegseth and all those in on the chat, the information was not classified. So, of course, the Atlantic is allowed to publish it.

Mistakes were definitely made, I hope now they will dump signal, I would prefer they use Telegram, but that’s just my own personal opinion, they learned from this and I hope they make the necessary changes and make sure this doesn’t happen again. Thankfully no American was killed.

—POTUS is above the law and above the legislature.

Yes, 

No.

you can be sure the Chinese and Russians have seen everything,*

Well yes, since the Atlantic published it in full, fair assumption the whole world has seen it. Also a fair bet if this was a Harris administration the magazine would have kept it quiet. Still, one learns from one's mistakes.

Go Judges..

Defeat MAGA circUS

Thankfully no American was killed.

Not yet. There was one CIA operative whose name was mentioned online. Hegseth claimed she was not undercover at the time, but if the Chinese or Russians already have her name, then it will blow any future chances at undercover work. Information like that are kept confidential for a good reason.

Huge breach of security protocols.

Public line used to discuss imminent attack plans.

Hegseth sent a three-hour and 21-minute plan that would run from 12:15 p.m. to 3:36 p.m. ET.

1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)

1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)

1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)

1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)

1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.

MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)

We are currently clean on OPSEC

Godspeed to our Warriors

Special envoy Steve Witkoff was in Russia at the time.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was flying in Asia at the time.

In a Mission Impossible movie it makes for a bit of tension.

In real life with the biggest military power handlers in the world on call, it makes Keystone Cops look serious drama.

No wiggle room. None.

Just suck it up and admit the failings and cut some of the surplus staff a la DOGE like.

Wanna know how stupid and bad this massive security breach was?

"A DoD department-wide email went out last week warning everyone in the DOD that a vulnerability was detected in the Signal messaging app, which Hegseth, along with several other administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, used to discuss bombing Houthi targets in Yemen.

Specifically, the email stated that “Russian professional hacking groups are employing the ‘linked devices’ features to spy on encrypted conversations,” and noted that Google identified Russian hacking groups “targeting Signal Messenger to spy on persons of interest.”

“Unmanaged ‘messaging apps,’ including any app with a chat feature, regardless of the primary function, are not authorized to access, transmit, process non-public DoD information. This includes but is not limited to messaging, gaming, and social media apps. (i.e., iMessage, WhatsApps, Signal),” a 2023 department memo states.

So this group of Morons were using an app that Hegseth FORBID his own troops to use, because it could be compromised by Russia....

Think about that - then think was this guy just so dumb he was oblivious to his own memo? Or did he violate his own order because Signal was "easier" or wouldn't leave an official record of his communications?

This is massive incompetence and dereliction of duty...all who were on this chat should be criminally investigated for knowingly violating DoD policy and national security laws...

Appoint a Special Prosecutor NOW...

No

Yes, and Congress will work to override these judges

Not yet.

Then calm down, we had a former Secretary of State hide a private server with government classified information on it in a public restroom at a public restaurant unsecured, this is not as bad, not good, but not bad

Defeat MAGA circUS

Not for long.

Somebody of the wing-nuts are saying: “They have learned a valuable lesson.” Hey, this isn’t an internship. These cabinet secretaries and directors are supposed to already be seasoned professionals, not newbies and amateurs. They messed up big time.

Signal App has LONG history of breaches and flaws due to 'technical difficulties', including Hillary Clinton while at State Dept. All communications are subject to risks due to technology flaws, $corruption etc., = Common Sense

Somebody of the wing-nuts are saying: “They have learned a valuable lesson.” Hey, this isn’t an internship. These cabinet secretaries and directors are supposed to already be seasoned professionals, not newbies and amateurs. They messed up big time.

The Trump Admin hires people not based on competency, but loyalty. During his first term, Project 2025 didn't exist, because no one thought that Trump would win (you can yourself view the posts oif his most vehement supporters today saying in 2015 and 2016 that they hated him). Now they want to enact their fascist worldview, and that requires brainless puppets who will do what they're told, when they're told, with no regard to the law. See: Pete Hegseth, a drunkard and imbecile who now is Secretary of Defense.

Congress will work to override these judges

Override the law, you mean.

Fascism.

Fascism.

Such nonsense.

Think about that - then think was this guy just so dumb he was oblivious to his own memo? Or did he violate his own order because Signal was "easier" or wouldn't leave an official record of his communications?

That is very disturbing. I get the idea that Hegseth didn't want to do the work and go through the proper channels necessary. I've heard that any government official, whether it is a high Cabinet member, or a lowly tech person, needs to conduct meetings which could involve any bit of sensitive information by going to a secure facility and use government-approved equipment. They may have to sometimes take time to drive or be driven to a secure environment, but it's worth the effort to keep secrets safe. Federal employees who have gone through the proper security clearances and training involved consider this as common sense as part of their job.

And this is the one time we have found out about this gross disregard for protocol. Who knows how many others they have gotten away with.

Then calm down, we had a former Secretary of State hide a private server with government classified information on it in a public restroom at a public restaurant unsecured, this is not as bad, not good, but not bad.

The email server was located in the Clintons' home in Chappaqua, New York, from January 2009 until 2013, when it was sent to a data center in New Jersey before being handed over to Platte River Networks, a Denver-based information technology firm that Clinton hired to manage her email system.

Fascism

Such nonsense.

It's actually correct.

This is a fascist government.

The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Staight

Signal App has LONG history of breaches and flaws due to 'technical difficulties', including Hillary Clinton while at State Dept. 

So why are they using it? Lesson not learned.

—Fascism.

Such nonsense.

If the president can override Congress, the courts, and the law, it’s fascism.

The amateurish error was cringeworthy enough.

Seeing Hegseth and the rest of them desperately attempt to deflect and distort reality -- instead of owning their mistake -- was truly pathetic. Anyone who found any part of this incident acceptable is pathetic.

plasticmonkeyToday  09:30 am JST

Congress will work to override these judges

Override the law, you mean.

Fascism.

No over-ride or not $fund out of control radical lunatic judges who have no jurisdiction or standing, but rather to act as tools of partisan insiders in a pure Lawfare strategy to disrupt the Executive Branch

Speaker Johnson, Constitutional lawyer for 20 years, stated usage of judicial 'restraining orders' against Trump in his 4 years and 2 months in office, approx. 70% of all restraining orders against all Presidents in past +100yrs!

Turns out most voters want deportations of criminal gangs, men OUT of women's sports, Houthis to no longer fuel their terror in the Red Sea etc.

Voters get communications inherently risky, no need to litigate, Signal App has known history of security 'lapses'

So these comments are missing the whole point of the lawsuit. There is something called the Federal Records Act of 1950 ( 44 USC, Chapter 31 ) that governs the management and preservation of official records created by all branches of the Federal Government. Official records includes official emails and chats. Using Signal those official records are not retained in accordance with the law. They are automatically deleted in fact. This seems like a pretty clear violation of the law and a valid subject for a lawsuit. Having been deleted the contents of those chats are not available for a Freedom of Information Act request.

A more interesting question to ask however is how much other official government policy and decision making is going on using commercial apps like Signal and thus how much of the official record of our government is being lost forever? Without a record nobody can prove anything and, our history is lost. All of which is against the law.

When does a 'chat' become a phone call?

And no, the public does not have the right to know the contents of communications between individuals at the top of the national security 'food chain' regarding such matters as the Houthis and relevant discussions.

US voters have Common Sense, do not want DC radical activist lawyers to compromise National Security.

This seems like a pretty clear violation of the law and a valid subject for a lawsuit. 

So was this the case when Obama and Biden administrations used Signal?

when the Atlantic said back in 2017 it was the “gold standard” to use?

And what’s the end goal of all of this?

activist judge bans Signal?

to force comms back to other less secure systems that intelligence community subversives can access and leak?

what’s the point of this lawsuit? To get all Signal chats of every Trump official to then leak them all?

It's actually correct. This is a fascist government.

Of course not, nowhere near it.

If the president can override Congress, the courts, and the law, it’s fascism.

Trump has not done that.

JJEToday 06:41 am JST

Law firms that assist this group (and others) will see security clearances, government contracts and access to government buildings blocked for things related and not. Watch.

WH will fight fire with fire

All the MAGA types want to go down on the Titanic but this captain will abandon you well before you know what's going on. Blind loyalty is a dangerous occupation. Your dictator-hero has no love for you loyalty and as he's attacking and dismantling democracy, will be coming for you too.

And no, the public does not have the right to know the contents of communications between individuals at the top of the national security 'food chain' regarding such matters as the Houthis and relevant discussions.

That is not what the law says. For all my long career at the DoD we had annual training on the Federal Records Act, what constitutes an official record, how they are to be retained, etc. When I retired all of my official records and correspondence were retained. If you study every war the US fought all the orders, internal communications and other official documents are retained by the National Archives. Even classified materials are retained because most often they are eventually declassified and become part of the public record. These are the historical records of the nation and belong the to public.

So why were Obama and Biden and Hillary allowed to use Signal? They didn’t need to “retain records”?

And what’s the end goal of all of this?

activist judge bans Signal?

Retention of the historical record of the US military, per the requirements of the Federal Records Act of 1950. Those texts are official records under a 75 year old US law. If that reporter had not inadvertently been incorporated into that chat nobody would be aware that official correspondence was occurring outside official Government email and chat features.

The decision making process, who said what and who pushed for what belong to the American people. That is why there is a Federal Records Act.

nobody would be aware that official correspondence was occurring outside official Government email and chat features. 

What? The Atlantic wrote about everyone using this great product back in 2017.

everyone was aware of its use and praising it as the gold standard TO use, who do you think loaded it for them on their government devices?

activist judge bans Signal?

Typical neo-con attitude. Whenever a judge, no matter if they were appointed by a Democrat or Republican, suddenly makes a court decision, even when it's based on the rule of law, that goes against what they believe in, they are suddenly labeled as "activist". Boarsberg was appointed by George Bush. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts was appointed by Bush as well. Yet, they are both considered as "activist" because they simply have done their job and abided by their teachings and philosophy concerning the law and rules in the Constitution, and ruled against Trump. Even Trump appointee Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is now considered "activist" by these neo-cons because of her decisions.

The elephant in the room no one wants to talk about: previous administrations using this very same encrypted app.

For example, under the previous administration just last year, a certain department related to IT/sec praised this app and promoted its widespread use in the annual report.

"No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS," national security adviser Mike Waltz wrote on X on Wednesday.

Waltz, Hegseth, and company are such idiots. The enemy doesn't need to know the information of their own location.

ABC News contributor Mick Mulroy, a former senior Pentagon official and CIA officer, added that the location of a strike isn't the most sensitive detail for an enemy to have.

"If leaked to the enemy, they know where they are," said Mulroy. "[Adversaries] just need to know when and what platform to be looking for."

"The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT "war plans," wrote White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on X on Wednesday. "This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin."

Maybe it might be true that no "WAR PLANS" or actual talking about attacking a nation, were shared on this app, but maybe "ATTACK PLANS" were shared, which means actual details of how the attack would be coordinated. Many former CIA and intelligence officials have stated that either type of plans are confidential.

So why were Obama and Biden and Hillary allowed to use Signal? They didn’t need to “retain records”?

Did they mistakenly invite journalists?

"U.S. judge in Trump deportation case assigned lawsuit over Signal scandal."

Well and good why not bring up another case to this same judge enquiring who was in charge for the last 4 years? The Dems understand only one language, use it with no hesitation.

It’s really a nonsensical story.

because to even be true it would mean:

a reporter obtained classified info under false pretenses, took screenshots of it, stored it on his device and then intentionally published this same classified information he illegally had in his possession.

he would be in jail now if the story were true.

I hope this principled judge will use his authority to put his 2 cents on the legality of this terrorist attack on Yemen since this cabal of war criminals have publicly admitted their contempt for the norms of international law and human decency.