„Shred And Burn All Documents”: USAID Staff Ordered To Destroy Evidence On Tuesday

A senior USAID official on Tuesday ordered the agency’s remaining staff to report to their now-former headquarters in Washington DC for an „all day” group effort to destroy documents, many of which contain sensitive information, Politico reports.

A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

The materials marked for destruction include „classified safes and personnel documents” at the Ronald Reagan Building, according to an email sent by USAID’s acting executive director, Erica Carr.

„Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,” read the email instructing staff to label the burn bags with „SECRET” and „USAID/B/IO” (which stands for „bureau or independent office”) in dark sharpie.

So the current Acting Executive Secretary of USAID who ordered the mass shredding and burning of paper files at USAID today worked in the Obama OPM, then Obama USAID, then was personally named USAID Executive Secretary by Joe Biden his first week in office. What’s going on here? https://t.co/GjPpibvNAo pic.twitter.com/C3tnx8fIPn

— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) March 11, 2025

According to the report, the email did not provide any reasoning for the document destruction, however the building is currently being emptied out after mass layoffs, which may have disrupted the routine destruction of materials.

The effort also underscores the tumultuous way in which the Trump administration is dismantling an agency that once managed a $40 billion annual budget and had more than 10,000 staff around the world.

Efforts by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency last month to access secure computer systems at USAID — including information about employees’ security clearances — triggered an uproar at the agency that prompted the administration to place two of the agency’s security staff on administrative leave. A DOGE spokesperson subsequently said that there was no improper access to classified material. -Politico

According to a former USAID staffer, „I’ve never seen something like this — en masse. Everyone with a safe is supposed to keep it up to date and destroy documents when they no longer need to be stored. Sometimes security will check your safe and tell you if you have to clean out old material.”

Developing…