In May, three organizations — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the National Security Archive, and the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations — sued, citing reports that State Department officials were being excluded from high-level White House meetings with foreign officials.

The groups argued that by sidelining the State officials, including language interpreters, the White House was violating its obligations to preserve records of key foreign policy activities. The suit cited meetings Trump held with leaders from Russia and North Korea, as well as talks Trump son-in-law and presidential adviser Jared Kushner held with Saudi officials.

Jackson said in her 22-page ruling that while she had limited power to examine official written or verbal "guidelines" on preserving records, the suit was fundamentally focused on the White House's actions and not the underlying policies.

The judge stressed, however, that she was not blessing the White House's record keeping practices.

"This opinion will not address, and should not be interpreted to endorse, the challenged practices; nor does it include any finding that the Executive Office [of the President] is in compliance with its obligations," Jackson wrote.

A spokesman for one of the groups behind the suit said lawyers were still considering how to respond to the decision.

"We're obviously disappointed to see today's ruling," CREW spokesman Jordan Libowitz said. "Our legal team is currently reviewing it to determine any potential future action."