'Fake News Hysteria': White House On Reports Of USAID Staff Being Ordered To 'Shred, Burn' Records

USAID employees were instructed to shred or burn classified documents, sparking legal challenges. The White House called it 'fake news hysteria'.

By : ABP Live News | Updated at : 12 Mar 2025 08:22 AM (IST)

USAID employees were directed to shred or burn classified documents.
Source : Kaboompics.com/Pexels

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) employees have been instructed to clear out classified safes and personnel documents from the Ronald Reagan Building, where the agency is housed, and shred or burn the records, CBS News reported quoting to two sources' screenshots of an email sent to USAID staff and obtained by the television broadcaster.

The move comes as President Donald Trump’s administration faces legal challenges over its attempt to shut down the federal agency.

The message urged officials to 'shred as many documents first' and to 'reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,' according to the email, sent by Erica Y Carr, the acting executive secretary.  Staffers were told to write 'secret' and 'USAID' on the bag with a marker. The email did not give details about what documents were to be shredded.

According to AP, a union for USAID contractors asked a federal judge on Tuesday to intervene in any destruction of classified documents after the email ordered staffers to help burn and shred agency records. Judge Carl Nichols has set a Wednesday morning deadline for the plaintiffs and the government to brief him on the issue.

This comes as the Donald Trump administration has been dismantling USAID, cutting off most federal funding and terminating 83% of humanitarian and development programs abroad, pulling all but a few hundred staffers off the job, and shutting down the agency’s Washington headquarters.

What White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly Said?

However, taking to X (formerly Twitter), White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly called reports of the shredding 'fake news hysteria'.

She wrote, "The USAID building will soon be occupied by CBP. This was sent to roughly three dozen employees. The documents involved were old, mostly courtesy content (content from other agencies), and the originals still exist on classified computer systems. More fake news hysteria!

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Published at : 12 Mar 2025 08:22 AM (IST)
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