WASHINGTON: A federal judge refused Friday to block the destruction of classified documents as part of the building cleanout at the US agency for international development, finding that records slated for shredding or burning are old or no longer needed.
The documents don’t appear to be related to the ongoing court battles over the near-dismantling of USAID by the Trump administration, US district judge Carl Nichols found as he refused to grant a temporary restraining order.
A second federal judge is expected to consider a separate lawsuit over the document destruction Friday afternoon.
The cases come as the Trump administration dismantles USAID, cutting off most federal money and terminating 83% of humanitarian and development programs abroad. All but a few hundred staffers are being pulled off the job and the agency’s Washington headquarters is being shut down.
A union for USAID contractors had asked Nichols, who was appointed by US President Donald Trump, to intervene to stop the destruction of possible evidence after an email ordering staffers to help burn and shred agency records became public.
The Trump administration said the email had been taken out of context as trained USAID staff cleared out the agency’s building. The classified documents slated for destruction were largely copies of those held by other agencies or derived from other classified material, Erica Carr, acting executive secretary at USAID, said in court documents.
Any personnel records or those related to current classified programs are being retained, she said.
She also pledged to contact the plaintiffs before any more documents are destroyed.
The collection, retention and disposal of classified material and federal records are closely regulated by federal law.
The classified documents at USAID emerged as an issue last month when the Trump administration put the agency’s top two security officials on leave after they refused to grant members of Elon Musk’s government-cutting teams access to classified material.
