Biden admin hit with lawsuit for deleting emails in case that could have consequences for Trump
America First Legal suing HHS for allegedly deleting emails, mishandling federal records
By Thomas Catenacci , Andrew Mark Miller Fox News
Published April 17, 2024 4:15pm EDT
FIRST ON FOX: A nonprofit legal organization filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on Wednesday, alleging it has deleted federal employees' emails in violation of existing statute.
In a sweeping complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the America First Legal Foundation (AFL), the group headed by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, accused the Department of Health and Human Services of regularly deleting official emails and violating the Federal Records Act. The group also named the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which is tasked with overseeing the unlawful destruction of federal records, as a defendant.
"If the National Archives decides not to use the legal authorities it has regarding federal records, it certainly shouldn't make up legal authority that it doesn't have when it comes to presidential records," America First Legal Vice President Dan Epstein said in an interview.
"We expect our government to act in a transparent and accountable way and exercise equanimity when it decides to investigate certain allegations. We clearly haven't seen that in this case."
According to Epstein, the lawsuit will have deep ramifications in Special Counsel Jack Smith's ongoing case against former President Donald Trump.
Smith is prosecuting Trump in connection to the former president's handling of classified documents and other presidential records after leaving the White House in early 2021. In June 2023, the Department of Justice unsealed a federal indictment accusing Trump of 37 felony counts in connection with obstruction of justice and mishandling government records.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admin-lawsuit-deleting-emails-case-ramifications-trump
