Report States Trump Admin Considering Charges After Probe At Federal Agency

Well, folks, buckle up because this one’s a doozy. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering criminal charges against U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) officials after a jaw-dropping investigation by The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uncovered what can only be described as rampant abuse of foreign aid programs. And when we say abuse, we’re not just talking about bad bookkeeping or bureaucratic inefficiencies—this is next-level mismanagement, potentially crossing into criminal territory.

Let’s break it down. Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee got an exclusive briefing on Wednesday from Pete Marocco, USAID’s deputy administrator-designate, and let’s just say, the revelations were enough to make lawmakers sit up and take notice. Marocco hinted that the findings could lead to criminal referrals for misconduct at the agency, marking a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on waste, fraud, and abuse in foreign aid spending.

Rep. Keith Self (R-TX), who attended the meeting, wasn’t mincing words. In an interview with DailyMail, he confirmed that the Department of Justice might soon have some new names to investigate.

“They intend to refer USAID officials to DOJ,” Self said, adding that fraud is, plain and simple, a criminal act. And here’s where it gets even more interesting—Marocco didn’t rule out that it’s not just USAID employees who could be in hot water, but also some of the organizations receiving American tax dollars. If the audit is uncovering actual fraud—not just poorly run programs, not just misguided spending, but outright, provable fraud—then prosecutions could be on the horizon.

And here’s the kicker: they’ve got the receipts. Self emphasized that no one is making empty accusations here. “You’re going to have to have a paper trail to prove that,” he pointed out, and it’s clear that USAID officials wouldn’t even be discussing criminal referrals unless they had serious evidence to back it up.

A second source at the meeting confirmed that things are even worse than initially thought. “The waste, fraud, and abuse at USAID was more severe than presumed,” the source revealed. Multiple referrals to the DOJ are reportedly being considered, all stemming from a deeply flawed system where USAID’s decentralized accountability allowed grantees to use American tax dollars in ways that were, at best, wildly inappropriate and, at worst, downright illegal.

Now, here’s where DOGE—the Department of Government Efficiency, for those keeping track—comes in. This initiative, which has been shaking up USAID since Trump put it into motion, has already led to major upheaval at the agency.

High-ranking officials, including the agency’s security director, have been placed on administrative leave. The USAID website? Taken offline. Long-standing programs focused on democracy-building and free speech? Either significantly cut back or put on ice entirely.

And just when conservatives thought they were making headway in draining this particular swamp, the U.S. Supreme Court threw a wrench into the plan. In a razor-thin 5-4 decision, the court declined to overturn a lower ruling that unfroze federal spending contracts at USAID. That means billions in aid payments—money that Trump wanted to keep locked down while it was being audited—could start flowing again. To say that was a setback for Trump’s efforts would be an understatement.