Overview
- Court filings say Joseph Guy, a former DHS deputy chief of staff and Kristi Noem aide, deleted roughly 30 Signal group threads tied to FEMA contracting on April 30 or May 1 when he left federal service.
- Guy told investigators under oath on May 4 that reinstalling the Signal app caused the messages and their backups to be lost, and that account is recorded in a preservation order by Judge Susan Illston.
- Judge Illston wrote that the deletions were "seriously troubling," denied the administration's bid to dismiss the case, and ordered DHS and FEMA to hand over staffing plans that the lost messages had helped to protect.
- Lawyers for Guy say the deletions were unintentional and deny he discussed them with Noem or Corey Lewandowski, while reporting has alleged Lewandowski sought payments from contractors and both he and Noem have denied wrongdoing.
- The missing Signal threads complicate oversight because encrypted app deletions can permanently erase backups and courts may treat such losses as spoliation with possible evidentiary or procedural consequences for the ongoing probes.