Lawsuit accuses feds of routinely destroying public records
The feds routinely have been destroying public records that are supposed to be preserved, but no one is prosecuted whose name isn’t Trump, according to a new lawsuit.
"You have maybe tens of thousands of government records every year that are destroyed without authority," explained Dan Epstein, an official with the America First Legal team that sued.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, he continued, "But when it comes to Donald Trump, he gets prosecuted. Everyone else who doesn't have to stand for election gets a free pass."
The lawsuit takes aim at Health and Human Services and the National Archives, including the radical abortion promoter Xavier Becerra, who heads HHS.
The charge is that the government routinely deletes federal employees' emails in violation of the law.
The complaint explains federal law requires agencies to "make and preserve records containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency and designed to furnish the information necessary to protect the legal and financial rights of the government and of persons directly affected by the agency’s activities."
The complaint, in U.S. District Court in Washington, charges that the government is in violation of its own Federal Records Act.
"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," Epstein explained.
"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."
The implications of the case, as its evidence unfolds, could be dramatic for special counsel Jack Smith, who accuses Trump of violating the law for having his presidential papers, including classified material he had the authority to declassify, in his home, just as other presidents have done.
In fact, Joe Biden was confirmed to have willfully taken classified papers from his vice presidency, which he did not hold authority to declassify, and stored them in his home, office and even unprotected garage.
The special counsel in that case recommended against charging Biden because of his diminished capacities.
Epstein charged that the federal government has one standard for those who are not Trump, noting that hundreds of thousands of records are deleted annually, and another for him.
The lawsuit stems from a 2023 records request from the legal team under the Freedom of Information Act for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention references to "teacher-led indoctrination of children with radical gender ideology."
The bureaucracy responded that records weren't available because they were deleted 30 days after an employee leaves a position.
The NARA then said it assigns to individual workers the responsibility of deciding if records should be kept.
But that, the AFL explained, is "patently inconsistent with the law."
For 25 years, WND has boldly brought you the news that really matters. If you appreciate our Christian journalists and their uniquely truthful reporting and analysis, please help us by becoming a WND Insider!
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@wndnewscenter.org.
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
The post Lawsuit accuses feds of routinely destroying public records appeared first on WND.