Officials from major US aid agencies dismantled by the Trump administration have told employees to clear safes holding confidential documents and personnel files by shreddling documents or bagging them to burn and burn them, according to an email sent to staff.
An email sent by acting executive director Erica Y. Carr told employees of the U.S. International Development Agency to empty the classified safes and personnel document files on Tuesday. According to a copy of an email obtained by the New York Times, “I shred many documents first and reserve a burning bag in case the shredder is unavailable or I need a break.”
The agency has fired thousands of employees, asked to take paid leave and work from several homes, so its headquarters is almost empty for several weeks.
It is unclear whether Carr Ms. Carr or other officials from USAID have obtained permission from the National Archives and the Bureau of Records to destroy the documents. The Federal Records Act of 1950 requires US government officials to request recordkeeping approval before destroying documents.
The documents being destroyed could be related to multiple court cases filed against the Trump administration and aid agencies regarding mass shootings and sudden relocation of employees, rapid dismantling of agencies, and freezing almost all foreign aid.
State Department and USAID spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment.
By Tuesday evening, at least two groups had filed court filings and tried to win a judge to prevent the destruction of more documents in USAID. In its filing, the defense argued that the authorities had not destroyed personnel records and that they would not destroy any further documents in the Ronald Reagan building, the home of the agency's headquarters, without first notice to the plaintiffs and the court.
The US Department of Foreign Affairs, a union representing career diplomats and plaintiffs, said in a statement Tuesday that it had “arrived reports that USAID directed the destruction of confidential documents that could be related to the ongoing lawsuit regarding the termination of USAID employees and the suspension of USAID grants.”
“Federal law is clear. Keeping government records is crucial to transparency, accountability and the integrity of the legal process,” the union said. “We ask that we fully comply with the federal record keeping laws to ensure accountability and protect the rights of USAID employees.”
The union also said employees engaged in inappropriate destruction of records could be at legal risk.
The aid agency employs nearly 2,000 career diplomats known as foreign ministers and is represented by the union. Diplomats generally destroy a large number of documents only when embassies and other mail are about to overrun by hostile forces. Some diplomats who received Kar's email on Monday night were worried about the sudden demand and called union officials.
The Federal Records Act states that “an agency must follow a retention schedule approved by the record agency,” and also covers all electronic documents. Printed documents must be stored in electronic form before they are destroyed, and the law states that “institutions must effectively manage their electronic records and ensure accessibility and security.”
In some federal agencies, employees regularly destroy physical documents after storing them in electronic format. It is unclear whether USAID employees guarantee that all physical documents are stored electronically before they are destroyed.
In an email Monday, Kerr asked the staff to meet in the lobby of Reaganville at 9:30am on Tuesday, and participated in the document destruction. The US government has ended the agency's leases for office space. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency's agent manager, plans to move the remnants of USAID to the State Department after firing thousands more employees.
The email told employees to mark their burn bags with “secret” or “USAID/(b/io)” if possible. “b/io” stands for office or independent office.
Rubio was in charge of USAID last month, and announced that State Department's divisive appointee Pete Marrocco will oversee his day-to-day operations. Marrocco worked with young employees of the task force run by President Trump's billionaire adviser Elon Musk to stop paying foreign aid funds, cut contracts, fire thousands of employees or take leave.
At a volatile cabinet meeting held at the White House last Thursday, Rubio threw anger at Musk to eradicate aid agencies.
On Monday, Rubio announced on social media that staff had cancelled 5,200 aid agency contracts, or 83% of the total. The remaining 1,000 will be administered by the State Department, he said. And he thanked Musk's team.
The State Department has not released details of the remaining 1,000 contracts.
The hundreds of USAID employees will likely be absorbed by the State Department, aid agency officials say.
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Monday to resume payments for aid for completed work. The judge noted that Congress had allocated foreign aid funds and that the Trump administration had no right to “built” money. The executive order signed by Trump on January 20th frozen almost all foreign aid funds.
Ryan Mac Contributed report from Los Angeles Shemaus Fuse Contributed research.
