USAID employees told to burn or shred classified documents
NBC3 days ago
USAID Orders Mass Document Shredding Amid Agency Dismantling
Above: A covering where the US Agency for International Development (USAID) signage used to be at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, on Monday, March 10, 2025. Image copyright: Kent Nishimura/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
This order marks a routine document curation process, not a scandal. As USAID shuts down, staff with proper clearance are simply shredding old, mostly courtesy records — still preserved digitally — per standard protocol. Hysteria over this ignores the reality that it's a practical step amid a planned overhaul, as Customs prepares to take over the building. This is what government efficiency looks like, and the unions' concerns are blown way out of proportion.
Establishment-critical narrative
Erica Carr's abrupt order to shred classified records and personnel files blatantly violates the Federal Records Act, which mandates retention for transparency and legal accountability. This rushed destruction — employing shredders and burn bags — threatens evidence in ongoing lawsuits and FOIA requests. Carr's lack of an X account adds an additional layer of suspicion to this move, as it shields her from public scrutiny while she oversees this illegal purge.