U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled on Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) policy of deleting emails from former employees was “likely unlawful,” handing a major victory to America First Legal (AFL), an ally of President Trump.
The CDC said it deleted former employees' emails within 90 days of their employment ending. VerdictThe CDC is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and has adopted the National Archives and Records Association's (NARA) Capstone Policy regarding email.
/1🚨Breaking News🚨
We obtained a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought against the Biden-Harris CDC for illegally deleting employee emails.
The National Archives and Attorney General Garland must work to recover the illegally deleted records and bring the CDC into compliance with the law. pic.twitter.com/OsYByavu06
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) August 9, 2024
The policy would allow the CDC to delete emails after 90 days, instead of the three-year minimum required for lower-level employees. General Record Schedule (GRS) 6.1.
A CDC spokesman did not immediately comment.
NARA referred the whistleblower to the DOJ, stating, “However, the National Archives' mission is to preserve, protect and share our Nation's records, and that will always be our priority and focus.” The DOJ had not yet responded as of publication.
The CDC argued that email records, which were deleted 90 days after employees left the company, were “properly maintained elsewhere.”
The court said the agency “sought and obtained” NARA's permission to adopt GRS 6.1 for email management in 2016. Contreras said there is no record showing that NARA ever approved CDC's use of a different records management system.
“The politicization of record-keeping by the Biden-Harris Administration must end, and we expect them to be held accountable for any misconduct under these circumstances,” AFL executive director Gene Hamilton said. press release.
In early 2023, the AFL requested records about the institution's support for gender ideology in the classroom. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna introduces bill to stop CDC from misusing its powers)
The legal group said the C.D.C. document “LGBTQ Inclusion in Schools: A Self-Assessment Tool.” The document includes a glossary and provides definitions for terms such as “cisnormativity” and “heteronormativity.”
AFL sued HHS and NARA in April of this year, and today Judge Contreras ordered CDC to stop deleting emails of non-former Capstone employees until the time period set out in GRS 6.1 has elapsed or “pending further order of the Court.”
“This is another historic legal victory for America First Legal in the fight against rampant government corruption,” said Stephen Miller, president of the AFL and a former adviser to President Trump, who concluded that the group will continue to pursue justice and hold institutions accountable.
New AFL Chairman statement on big win Stephen M: https://t.co/Kf6ddZXUEP pic.twitter.com/FU60WUVVen
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) August 9, 2024
