A union representing U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contractors urged a federal judge on Tuesday to intervene and prevent the destruction of classified documents after an email instructed staff to help burn and shred agency records.
Judge Carl Nichols set a deadline for Wednesday morning for both the plaintiffs and the government to brief him on the matter. A source familiar with the email, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisal, confirmed it was sent to at least some essential personnel.
This development comes amid the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID, including cutting most federal funding, terminating 83% of humanitarian and development programs abroad, reducing the agency’s staff to just a few hundred, and closing its Washington headquarters.
Lawsuits are piling up over the sudden shutdown of U.S. foreign assistance and the targeting of the aid agency. In the latest court challenge, the Personal Services Contractor Association, which represents thousands of contractors now furloughed or fired by USAID, asked the judge to block any document destruction in order to preserve evidence.
The email begins with, “Thank you for your assistance in clearing our classified safes and personnel documents” at USAID’s headquarters in Washington.
It instructed staff to report to work starting Tuesday, with a directive to “shred as many documents as possible first.” If the shredder became overwhelmed, staff were to place the remaining classified material into designated bags for burning. The email specified that staff should mark the bags with the word “secret” using a marker.
The State Department did not immediately respond to inquiries about the email, including whether officials were adhering to the legally required procedures for document destruction.
The collection, retention, and disposal of classified materials and federal records are tightly governed by federal law, with improper handling or disposal potentially leading to criminal charges.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused the Trump administration of failing to comply with federal records law.
“Haphazardly shredding and burning USAID documents and personnel files seems like a great way to eliminate evidence of wrongdoing when you’re illegally dismantling the agency,” Meeks said in a statement.
The American Foreign Service Association, a group representing USAID workers, expressed concern that the documents being destroyed could be crucial to ongoing lawsuits related to the agency’s mass firings and program cuts.
The classified documents at USAID came to light last month when the Trump administration placed the agency’s top two security officials on leave after they refused to allow members of Elon Musk’s government-restructuring teams access to classified materials.
The Associated Press reported that the classified materials included intelligence reports. Kate Miller, a member of the DOGE advisory board, later stated that no classified material was accessed “without proper security clearances.”
The extensive firings at USAID have left only a small number of staff with access to the agency’s systems.
