On Wednesday, the Trump Administration suggested the possibility of criminal referrals against the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after uncovering wasteful spending at the agency over many years.
According to The Hill, USAID Acting Deputy Administrator Peter Marocco told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that he is considering criminal referrals to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Although he did not say if that is his ultimate goal, sources familiar with the briefing say that it nevertheless represents an important step in the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the heavily-scrutinized agency.
In January, a memo from USAID’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) detailed how some aid recipients are resisting government investigative efforts as the Trump Administration prioritizes transparency and accountability. Among other things, the memo mentioned at least $8 billion that was given to United Nations (UN) agencies with little oversight.
President Donald Trump, along with Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has targeted USAID more than any other agency. Thousands of employees have been fired, the headquarters in Washington D.C. have been shut down, and a freeze has been ordered on all foreign aid until further notice. President Trump has declined to appoint a permanent USAID Administrator, instead making Secretary of State Marco Rubio the Acting Administrator. Much of the work in gutting the agency at lower levels has largely been left to such figures as Marocco.
President Trump highlighted numerous examples of wasteful government spending, including from USAID, during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, his first address as the 47th President. Despite efforts by the Democratic Party to attack Musk and advocate for continued government spending and foreign aid, public opinion polls show that overwhelming majorities of the American people support DOGE and its mission to reduce the size of government.
Sorry but it’s smoke and mirrors until:
Exactly. Much ado about patently obvious criminal activity that will more than likely, far more than likely, get swept under the rug and ignored with the culprits knowing that they got away with it.
Not until we see maybe a 100 of these SOBS perp walked, tried, convicted, bankrupted defending themselves and then serving time for 10 or 20 years with no possibility of parole?
Will they even start to sit up and take notice.