According to an internal email seen by the Guardian, officials from the United States International Development Agency (USAID) have launched a massive destruction at its headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC.
An email sent by Adicaid’s secretary, Erica Y Carr, will instruct staff on procedures to clear “classified safes and personnel documents” through the use of “burning bags” marked “secret” throughout the day on Tuesday.
“We will shred a lot of documents first and reserve a burning bag in case the shredder is no longer available or need a break,” Kerr wrote in an email.
The timing of the purge of this document comes amid the ongoing controversy over the essentially closure of USAID following the Trump administration’s attempts to restructure independent agencies through the so-called “Sector of Government Efficiency” (DOGE).
Doge is led by Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, and is tasked with reducing the number of federal jobs and how much it spends. Amid the enormous chaos that grasped the US government as Musk-led Doge performs its activities, USAID was one of the worst government agencies.
Massive cuts at USAID have impacted projects around the world as huge numbers of projects are suspended, closed, and funding is drastically reduced. There have been widespread protests from the moves from USAID workers, but there have also been protests across the international development sector to warn of harmful effects on some of the world’s most vulnerable groups.
Once a federal agency is dissolved or reconstructed, their records are usually transferred to successor agencies or to the National Archives and the Records Agency (NARA) pursuant to the Federal Records Act (FRA). During a rushing exit from Afghanistan in the US in 2021, Nara sent a reminder to safely and legally destroy confidential documents.
However, compliance with the FRA in this situation is a very problematic. This is usually at least three years, as the law explicitly prohibits destruction of government records prior to the specified retention period. There is also prolonged concern that there is a risk of permanently eliminating the ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements and evidence needed for future surveillance investigations.
Last year, the USAID inspector’s office announced that it had launched an investigation into agency oversight of the Starlink terminal for masks that were sent to the Ukrainian government.
A Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February.
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It is unclear whether proper recordkeeping protocols are being followed during this process or whether documents to be stored have been destroyed.
“If you need an additional burn bag or Sharpie marker, please let me know or the SEC Infosec team,” the email said.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
