A federal judge has ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) likely violated federal law by unlawfully destroying emails of former employees. The ruling, which came as a result of a lawsuit filed by America First Legal Foundation, found that the CDC's policy of deleting emails 90 days after an employee's departure does not comply with the National Archives' regulations, which require records retention for three to seven years. Judge Rudolph Contreras stated that the CDC's unapproved data retention policy led to a systematic loss of records, undermining transparency and accountability. The ruling requires the CDC to halt the deletion of these emails until proper compliance is established with federal standards. Additionally, the National Archives and Records Administration must work to recover any illegally deleted records. This decision has significant implications for all agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services and raises concerns about the CDC's record-keeping practices.