The US Agency for International Development (USAID) instructed its Washington staff to shred and burn documents, according to an email obtained by NBC News. The directive comes as the Trump administration faces challenges over its attempt to strip and shut down the agency.
An email from Erica Carr, USAID’s acting executive secretary, indicated that the destruction was scheduled for Tuesday. The message thanked workers for their “assistance in clearing our classified safes and personnel documents.”
“Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,” Carr wrote, per the NBC report.
While classified materials are sometimes destroyed in emergencies, former employees and a group representing foreign service workers say this directive is not appropiate.
Legal groups opposing the administration’s efforts to shut down USAID filed an emergency motion on Tuesday to halt the destruction.
“Defendants are, as this motion is being filed, destroying documents with potential pertinence to this litigation,” the motion stated. A Trump administration official stated that three dozen employees received the email and that the materials being destroyed were “courtesy content”—documents given to USAID by other agencies.
“Although Plaintiffs do not know at this moment which records are being destroyed, the destruction of records