The Biden Administration is facing a lawsuit after it allegedly deleted several emails of federal employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in violation of the Federal Records Act.
American First Legal, a conservative legal nonprofit, sued the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Archives and Records Administration, accusing the agencies of illegally destroying federal records from the CDC in an attempt to dodge the truth.
In a 55-page lawsuit, the legal team claimed that destroying or mishandling such records of employees 30 days after they leave is illegal under the act.
“The CDC destroyed records it determined were unimportant,” AFL vice president Dan Epstein said in a statement. “However, as this lawsuit shows, the CDC, like any other person who destroys government records, may not evade the law. The Archives and the Department of Justice have a statutory responsibility to apply the law fairly to all persons.”
America First Legal used several examples to defend its argument that the Biden Administration is guilty of leading a double standard, citing special counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of former President Donald Trump allegedly mishandling classified documents after he left office.
“You have maybe tens of thousands of government records every year that are destroyed without authority," Epstein told Fox News Digital. "But when it comes to Donald Trump, he gets prosecuted. Everyone else who doesn't have to stand for election gets a free pass."
Another example the legal group referenced included former FBI agent Scott Payne who deliberately deleted highly classified law enforcement records from the agency’s database.
“A former FBI agent kept all of his official investigative files at his home and simply faced a slap on the wrist from the Archives,” Epstein said. “However, a former president who sent personally designated records to his residence was subject to a criminal investigation and prosecution instigated by the Archives. The rule of law cannot mean one set of rules for unelected bureaucrats and another for democratically-elected officials who happen to be a political challenger to the sitting President.”
The National Archives claimed that each CDC employee can determine which emails they want automatically deleted once leave.
“The CDC instructs individual email account holders to apply retention based on the email’s content value and its applicability to a NARA-approved records schedule,” the agency said.
However, American First Legal stated that it is “patently inconsistent with the law.”