A left-leaning nonprofit watchdog group received a mea culpa about a "misunderstanding" from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, weeks after filing a lawsuit claiming that Secretary Kristi Noem's agency appeared to be violating a legal mandate to preserve text messages and other "electronic" records.

On Oct. 20, American Oversight filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging DHS' statement that "text message data" about government business "generated after April 9, 2025, is no longer maintained" was a straightforward violation of the Federal Records Act .

An additional subsequent statement that "DHS no longer has the capability to conduct a search of text messages" likewise evinced a violation of FOIA, the plaintiff sa

See Full Page