A newly filed lawsuit targeting US President Donald Trump’s administration over leaked Pentagon plans in a Signal chat has been assigned to Judge James Boasberg, the same judge who previously halted the administration’s deportation policies.
The watchdog group American Oversight filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, accusing defense secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials of violating federal records laws by discussing military plans concerning Houthi attacks in a Signal group chat. The case has been randomly assigned to Boasberg, a judge serving on the US district court for Washington, DC.
Republican lawmakers have strongly criticised Boasberg’s involvement in the case. Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo, condemned what he described as “rogue judges” like Boasberg, saying that he has introduced legislation aimed at preventing district-level judges from issuing nationwide injunctions similar to the one Boasberg previously used to block deportations.
“These judges have shown they care more about obstructing President Trump’s policies than applying the law correctly,” Hawley said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Congress has the power to change that.”
Representative Darrell Issa, R-Calif, also called for Boasberg to recuse himself, arguing that the judge’s alleged bias against Trump is clear.
“It is no coincidence that Judge Boasberg has been assigned this case,” Issa said. “While I do not expect him to step aside, doing so would be the best course of action to maintain the court’s integrity.”
American Oversight argues that the lawsuit revolves around the Federal Records Act, which mandates that federal officials preserve communications related to official government business. The group highlighted that agencies typically ensure message retention from apps like Signal through policies requiring messages to be forwarded to official systems or archived appropriately.
The lawsuit names several high-ranking officials as defendants, including Hegseth, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA director John Ratcliffe, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and the national archives and records administration. It also raises concerns that Signal’s auto-delete feature may have resulted in the destruction of important records in violation of federal law.
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky warned that assigning the case to Boasberg is legally contentious and could damage the credibility of the DC district court for years.
“With his past controversial rulings under appellate review, allowing him to handle another case involving Trump’s policies could be problematic,” Cherkasky told Fox News Digital.
Former Trump attorney Alina Habba also criticised the lawsuit, calling it an example of political bias in the judiciary.
“This is yet another attempt to weaponise the judicial system against Trump’s administration,” Habba said. “Such tactics distract from the real achievements of this administration, especially in safeguarding national security.”
The White House has pushed back against allegations that the Signal group chat was used for “war planning,” as some reports have suggested. Gabbard, during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday, maintained that no classified information was shared in the chat.
“It was an error that a reporter was mistakenly added to a Signal chat involving senior national security officials discussing imminent strikes on the Houthis,” Gabbard said. “The National Security Advisor has taken full responsibility, and the National Security Council is conducting a thorough review to determine how this happened.”
