U.S.A.I.D. Employees Ordered to Destroy Classified Documents Amid Controversy

The U.S. Agency for International Development faces scrutiny after an internal order to shred critical documents could impact ongoing legal cases.

In a controversial directive, a senior official at the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S.A.I.D.) has instructed employees to destroy classified documents and sensitive personnel files. This order, communicated via email by acting executive secretary Erica Y. Carr, instructs staff to shred documents first and use burn bags only when shredders are not available, as tensions rise regarding the agency’s future under the Trump administration.

With a backdrop of mass layoffs, paid leave, and remote work policies, the agency's headquarters has remained largely vacant. The legality of these document destructions is now in question, particularly whether officials obtained necessary permission from the National Archives and Records Administration prior to the destruction—an act mandated by the Federal Records Act of 1950.

The documents being ordered for destruction might be pertinent to ongoing litigation against U.S.A.I.D. and the Trump administration related to the mass firings of employees, the agency's rapid dismantling, and the recent suspension of foreign aid.

The American Foreign Service Association, the union representing career diplomats, responded with alarm, highlighting the potential implications of this directive on active legal cases. The State Department and U.S.A.I.D. have not issued comments following requests for clarification on this issue.