Stop Records Destruction—Preserve Signal & Other Records

The preservation of government records—both official and unofficial—is essential to a functioning democracy. In a country built on transparency and accountability, attempts to delete war planning discussions held via encrypted apps like Signal, including those related to Yemen, must be investigated and stopped. As reported by The Washington Post (March 2024), members of Trump’s team discussed plans for U.S. military operations over Signal and later attempted to erase those conversations. This is not just careless—it’s a calculated move to operate in the dark, shielded from oversight. This is far from the first time. During Trump’s first term, the National Archives confirmed that numerous official records were either destroyed or not properly preserved, including torn documents that had to be taped back together by staff (Washington Post, Feb. 2022). Some White House call logs, visitor logs, and internal memos vanished or were never recorded properly. Trump also routinely used unsecured personal phones and messaging apps for government business—an act that violates the Presidential Records Act. These patterns echo the behavior of authoritarian regimes that destroy records to rewrite history, escape accountability, or consolidate unchecked power. The United States must never follow that path. Democracy requires paper trails, logs, and proof—not shadows and secrecy. Oversight bodies and members of Congress must act immediately to demand preservation of all records, especially communications regarding national security, military operations, and internal policy decisions. We urge you to support immediate oversight and legislation that strengthens record-keeping requirements for all federal officials, including the President. No administration, regardless of party, should be allowed to destroy the evidence of its actions—especially when lives, wars, and our democratic norms are at stake.