WASHINGTON, DC - The Department of Justice denies a report that US Agency for International Development (USAID) employees were ordered to burn and shred classified records to avoid scrutiny by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), The New York Post reports.
DOJ attorneys said Tuesday that “one out-of-context email” created a narrative that an “indiscriminate purge” was taking place, which they said was invalid.
“Trained USAID staff sorted and removed classified documents in order to clear the space formerly occupied by USAID for its new tenant. The removed classified documents had nothing to do with this litigation,” DOJ trial attorney Michael Clendenen wrote in a Wednesday filing in DC federal court.
“They were copies of documents from other agencies or derivatively classified documents, where the originally classified document is retained by another government agency and for which there is no need for USAID to retain a copy,” Clendenen continued.
“Any documents pertaining to current classified programs were retained, as were all personnel records and any document that must be retained under the Federal Records Act (FRA),” he said.
He also said that USAID would notify associations for foreign services officers and contractors suing the agency before destroying any more documents.
In another of scores of lawsuits filed against the Trump administration for trying to rein in federal spending abuses, the American Foreign Service Association and the Personal Services Contractor Association, which represents USAID staff and contractors, have asked a DC federal court to put a temporary restraining order on Trump officials operating at the agency, which has been pretty much wholly dismantled.
The DOJ argued that the order was unnecessary because officials aren’t violating the Federal Records Act, and the plaintiffs have not demonstrated that the displaced USAID staffers were suffering irreparable harm due to potential evidence destruction.
In an email to staffers on Tuesday, USAID acting executive director Erica Carr called for an “all-day” effort to destroy sensitive agency documents.
“Thanks for your assistance in clearing our classified safes and personnel documents,” the email began.
“Shred as many documents first,” the email said, reminding staffers to put remaining classified materials into designated “burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break.”
The staffers who work at the Ronald Reagan Building were also instructed to write “secret” on the burn bags with a marker.
The email did not explain why the documents should have been destroyed after the Trump administration shut the agency down.
The Department of State, which is taking on much of USAID’s responsibilities, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The agency was flagged by DOGE for widespread waste, fraud, and abuse, leading President Trump to move quickly to dismantle it. The administration has mothballed 83% of USAID’s “humanitarian” and “development” programs overseas, pulling all but a handful of staffers off the job while shuttering the agency’s main DC office.
The existence of classified documents at USAID came forth last month when the Trump administration placed the agency’s top two security officials on leave after refusing to allow DOGE workers to access the material.
