USAID Official Orders Staff to Destroy Classified Documents

(Bloomberg) -- Staff at USAID were ordered to destroy classified documents and personnel records, according to a memo from a top official, prompting fresh legal challenges as well as alarm from the union that represents foreign service officers.

“Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,” says the memo, a copy of which was seen by Bloomberg News. It was signed by USAID Acting Executive Secretary Erica Carr.

The State Department, which oversees USAID, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. 

In response to the directive being made public, two separate legal challenges were filed seeking to stop the destruction of the documents. Lawyers representing USAID contractors in one lawsuit filed an emergency request for a court order forcing the government “to preserve all documents with any possible relevance to pending litigation.”