Story perspectives

State Dept taps LeapXpert to seize Trump officials' Signal.

6/30/2026

Summary

Story summary

State Department installed LeapXpert on senior Trump officials’ phones to capture Signal messages despite auto-delete.
13 Signal screenshots show groups set to auto-delete messages after as little as eight hours.
Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward called the auto-delete groups Federal Records Act violations and urged the National Archives to enforce the law.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said he uses Signal for administrative tasks and does not share classified information.

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Story summary

State Department installed LeapXpert on senior Trump officials’ phones to capture Signal messages despite auto-delete.
13 Signal screenshots show groups set to auto-delete messages after as little as eight hours.
Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward called the auto-delete groups Federal Records Act violations and urged the National Archives to enforce the law.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said he uses Signal for administrative tasks and does not share classified information.