Nothing to see here, just Trump shredding ‘essential’ documents needed for rehiring unlawfully fired workers

Another day, another clown show courtesy of the White House circus, this time with the revelation that Donald Trump requested the destruction of classified employee documents.

The documents in question pertain to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the foreign aid agency that has become subject to sweeping funding cuts and mass layoffs through Elon Musk’s efficiency taskforce, DOGE. According to NBC News, USAID sent an email to staff instructing them to shred and burn their records, some of which would be needed in the event that an unlawfully fired federal worker seeks litigation. 

USAID has ordered its staff burn and shred every document. If this doesn’t look like a coverup I don’t know what does. pic.twitter.com/UI32R3VMDU

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 11, 2025

It’s unclear how many employees received the email, which thanked staff for their “assistance in clearing our classified safes and personnel documents.” Sent by USAID’s acting executive secretary Erica Carr, the email tells workers to “shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break.” It presents a litigious nightmare for labor groups representing employees who are challenging their firing from USAID, an agency which Trump and DOGE are seeking to dismantle entirely. 

That’s why two such labor groups have filed to stop the agency’s document destruction, as part of their broader lawsuit around the shutdown of USAID. The filing explained that records could contain information “with potential pertinence to this litigation,” and sought a temporary restraining order to stop the “imminent and ongoing destruction of evidence.” After the filing the government said it would halt further document destruction, but it’s unclear how many records were already destroyed prior to the pause.

ProPublica just obtained a remarkable directive to those remaining at USAID: Empty the safes with the classified and personnel records and then …

“Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break.”

— Brett Murphy (@BrettMmurphy) March 11, 2025

In the fallout, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols — who is presiding over the representative groups’ case against the USAID shutdown — ordered the government to reveal which “documents were and were not destroyed” later this week. In their response, a Trump administration official claimed that no documents necessary for USAID employees’ litigation were destroyed, and that staff were only ordered to shred and burn “courtesy content,” meaning documents given to USAID as a courtesy from other agencies.  

Why is USAID shredding classified documents?

On orders from the Trump administration! Did you miss the memo? 😀
“Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused the Trump administration of not complying with federal records law.
“Haphazardly shredding and burning USAID documents and…

— Dben Andromeda (@Derrick55096) March 12, 2025

Also in their response, the administration official said the documents — housed in the USAID offices within the Ronald Reagan Building — were being destroyed to make way for another agency. “They are clearing out their building because it’ll be used by Customs and Border Patrol,” the spokesperson said. However, some experts and opponents of Trump have flagged that document destruction is not a standard procedure, claiming the president is instead attempting to “get rid of evidence of wrongdoing when you’re illegally dismantling the agency,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) said. 

Meanwhile, Kel McClanahan — the director of National Security Counselors, a law firm that focuses on national security — said the request to burn files is “not the actions of someone looking for true waste, fraud and abuse,” as is DOGE’s aim, but is instead a “slash-and-burn mode” of “not leaving any evidence behind that could disprove their narrative.” It comes amid sweeping attacks on USAID levelled by Musk and DOGE, with the agency subject to massive cuts to funding, and the termination of 83% of its foreign humanitarian and development programs.