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[Revelations]

Washington—Some U.S. Agency for International Development employees have been directed to clear out classified safes and personnel documents from the Ronald Reagan Building, where the agency is housed, and shred or burn the records, according to two sources' screenshots of an email sent to USAID staff and obtained by CBS News.

USAID staffers received an email from USAID acting executive secretary Erica Carr directing them to clear out classified safes and personnel documents, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The shredding instruction regarding sensitive documents was first reported by ProPublica.

"Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break," the email reads. If you need to use the burn bags, do not overfill, and ensure the burn bag can be closed with staples at the top. The only labeling required on the burn bags are the words 'SECRET' and 'USAID/(B/IO)' in dark sharpie if possible. If you need additional burn bags or sharpie markers, please let me or the SEC InfoSec team know."

The documents being ordered destroyed could be evidence for multiple court filings against the Trump administration and the government aid agency, one source familiar with the instructions about the handling of USAID records told CBS News.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/usaid ... r-AA1AIn5P

[Revelations]

Court asked to intervene after email tells USAID workers to destroy classified documents





WASHINGTON (AP) — A union for U.S. Agency for International Development contractors asked a federal judge Tuesday to intervene in any destruction of classified documents after an email ordered staffers to help burn and shred agency records.

Judge Carl Nichols set a Wednesday morning deadline for the plaintiffs and the government to brief him on the issue. A person familiar with the email who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal verified that it was sent to at least some essential personnel.

t comes as the 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.

Lawsuits are mounting over the abrupt shutdown of most U.S. foreign assistance and the targeting of the aid agency. In the latest court challenge, Personal Services Contractor Association, representing thousands of contractors now furloughed or fired from USAID, asked the judge to stop any document destruction to preserve evidence.

The email was sent under the name of Erica Carr — the acting executive secretary at USAID — and bears a USAID logo.

“Thank you for your assistance in clearing our classified safes and personnel documents” at USAID headquarters in Washington, it begins.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/co ... r-AA1AID03

[Revelations]