Judge Won't Block Destruction Of Old Usaid Classified Documents As The Building Is Cleaned Out

A federal judge refused Friday to block the destruction of classified documents as part of the building cleanout at the U.S. 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, U.S. 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 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.