JUSTICE: President Trump Considering Criminal Charges for USAID Staff

Go to Article

USAID workers could soon be facing jail time due to the massive fraud Elon Musk’s DOGE has uncovered.

Acting Deputy Administrator for USAID Peter Marocco revealed to lawmakers during a closed-door meeting today that his team is seeking criminal referrals against USAID staffers from the Department of Justice.

According to Rep. Ketih Self of Texas, “They intend to refer USAID officials to DOJ,” over the “criminal act” of fraud.

He added, “If they are detecting outright fraud, not just bad programs, not just ignoble programs, not just programs that don’t support the national interest of the United States, if they’re finding fraud, then, absolutely’ the wrongdoers should be prosecuted.”

Damn straight!

Take a look:

The Daily Mail reported:

Federal workers at USAID could find themselves behind bars for fraud after DOGE uncovered a massive spending scandal at the program, DailyMail.com has learned

Pete Marocco, deputy administrator-designate at USAID, provided the House Foreign Affairs Committee with a briefing on Capitol Hill Wednesday while discussing the review of foreign aid implemented by President Donald Trump.

Moracco told the committee he is considering sending criminal recommendations to the Justice Department regarding actions within USAID being exposed by Elon Musk‘s DOGE.

‘Apparently, there’s still judicial action that has even come out as late as this morning,’ Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, who was in the meeting, told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

‘They intend to refer USAID officials to DOJ,’ he shared, noting how fraud ‘is a criminal act.’

The Republican shared that Marocco left open the possibility that both USAID workers and grant recipients could be recommended for crimes.

‘If they are detecting outright fraud, not just bad programs, not just ignoble programs, not just programs that don’t support the national interest of the United States, if they’re finding fraud, then, absolutely’ the wrongdoers should be prosecuted, Rep. Self said.

Self noted that Marocco and USAID would not share their plans for criminal recommendations unless they had a rock solid ‘paper trail.’

‘You’re going to have to have a paper trail to to prove that,’ Self added. ‘And I doubt that they would refer anyone without a very strong paper trail.’

Another source in the meeting who spoke to DailyMail.com confirmed the potential legal action.

‘Marocco briefed the full House Foreign Affairs Committee, Democrats and Republicans, that the waste, fraud, and abuse at USAID was more severe than initially presumed,’ the source shared.

‘He told lawmakers that multiple referrals to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution were being considered,’ they continued.

‘The conduct in question arose because of USAID’s decentralized accountability system that often left grantees on the ground using American tax dollars in ways that were both inappropriate and potentially illegal,’ the source disclosed.

Though Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been tasked to lead USAID, Marocco is the one running point on many of the agency’s operations.

The Hill added:

The Trump administration is signaling it may bring criminal referrals against employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) or grantee recipients over allegations of misuse of foreign assistance, which would mark an extraordinary next step in the administration’s push to gut the agency.

Peter Marocco, who is serving as acting deputy administrator for USAID, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing Wednesday that he and his staff are looking at making criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, according to two people familiar with the conversations.

It’s unclear if Marocco will follow through on the threat, said one person who was in the room during the briefing, but they saw it as a significant signal, coming up in a meeting with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

A January memo from the USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG) laid out resistance from some aid grantees over sharing information that officials say is needed for oversight and accountability. The OIG memo highlighted $8 billion that was primarily distributed to United Nations agencies and multilateral development banks which they criticized as being shielded from scrutiny.

However, an OIG advisory notice on Feb. 10 warned that the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of USAID staff and contractors, and a freeze on foreign aid, hindered oversight and the safeguarding of $8.2 billion in obligated humanitarian assistance. Both OIG reports were authored by Paul K. Martin. A veteran of Trump’s first term who was appointed by Biden on Jan. 2, Martin was dismissed on Feb. 11.

The State Department, when reached for comment, said it generally does not comment on communications and briefings with Congress. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the official head of USAID, but Marocco has been a leading figure in efforts to gut the agency.

Criminal referrals would further escalate tensions between the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department Of Government Efficiency team on one side, and government employees, foreign aid recipients and Democrats on the other. Some Republicans have privately advocated for certain programs and spending priorities behind the scenes.

Now that’s what I’m talking about!

The swift hand of Justice is coming.



Comment on this Article Via Your Disqus Account