Remaining staff members of the U.S. Agency for International Development were instructed to shred and burn classified and personnel documents at the agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group filed a motion for an emergency temporary restraining order to stop the destruction of federal records.
"Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,” according to an email — which Devex obtained — written by Erica Y. Carr, the acting executive secretary of USAID. She said it was an “all day” event starting Tuesday morning.
The staffers were instructed to label the burn bags with the words “SECRET” and “USAID/B/IO” — which indicates the bureau or office — in dark Sharpie markers.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
