The White House has responded to an email from a senior USAID official ordering staffers to destroy documents at the Ronald Reagan Building on Tuesday.
The building is currently being cleared out as thousands of USAID workers have been placed on administrative leave.
In a motion filed in Washington, D.C., federal court, the unions cited an email from USAID’s acting executive director, Erica Carr, which stated:
“Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break.
The only labeling required on the burn bags are the words ‘SECRET’ and ‘USAID/(B/IO)’ in dark sharpie if possible.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly responded by saying it was “more fake news hysteria.”
“The USAID building will soon be occupied by CBP,” Kelly said.
“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,” she added.
“More fake news hysteria!”
The lawsuit was brought by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association, alleging that Trump overstepped his authority by largely shuttering an independent agency established by Congress by firing employees.
On Tuesday, the plaintiffs asked U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols for a temporary restraining order to block the shredding of the documents.
They argued that the loss of vital personnel or other records could prevent USAID from resuming its operations.
The judge responded by ordering both sides to submit a status report by Wednesday morning proposing a schedule for briefs on the motion.
Nichols allowed the Trump administration to proceed with its plan to put more than 2,000 USAID employees on leave.
The Trump administration has scrapped more than 80% of USAID’s programs and fired much of its staff.
In a separate lawsuit, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration cannot refuse to spend foreign aid money appropriated by Congress, stopping short of restoring canceled contracts.
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