NYT Casually Admits USAID Squandered Money But Still Laments Its Closure
Around 1,000 USAID programs are still alive, and now managed through the State Department. The U.S. is still doing good internationally.Around 1,000 USAID programs are still alive, and now managed through the State Department. The U.S. is still doing good internationally.From Martha’s Vineyard to NBA suites: USAID official and contractors defraud taxpayers of $550 million
A decade-long fraud and bribery scheme involving the United States Agency for International Development further reinforced the Trump administration's case for restructuring the fraud-plagued agency.
On Thursday, Trump's Department of Justice published a press release announcing that a former USAID official and three senior leaders from three private companies pleaded guilty to a massive plot to defraud American taxpayers dating back to 2013.
The scheme involved at least 14 contracts totaling over $550 million in taxpayer funds.
'A former USAID employee and three others were using funds to pay for things like a lavish country club wedding and a Martha's Vineyard estate, all on the taxpayer's dime.'
Roderick Watson, who previously worked as a USAID contracting officer, agreed to receive bribes from Darryl Britt, then owner and president of Apprio Inc., to influence contracts awarded to the company.
Early in the scheme, PM Consulting Group LLC, doing business as Vistant, was a subcontractor to Apprio on one of the awarded contracts.
RELATED: USAID program contractor defrauds taxpayers of $100,000 in latest agency scandal
Between 2018 and 2022, Apprio lost its eligibility to be a prime contractor for new USAID contracts under the SBA 8(a) contracting program. Apprio and Vistant responded by switching around their scheme, allowing Vistant to act as the prime contractor and Apprio its subcontractor.
Britt and Walter Barnes, Vistant's then-owner and president, bribed Watson, often funneling money through Paul Young, then president of a subcontractor to the two companies. Britt and Barnes also hid their illegal activities through fake invoices and falsely listed Watson and shell companies on electronic bank transfers.
Their bribes also included electronics, suite tickets to an NBA game, two residential mortgage down payments, and employment for relatives.
Watson allegedly received $1 million in bribes.
The DOJ explained how Watson used his influence to ensure that Apprio and Vistant received the USAID awards.
"In exchange for the bribe payments, Watson influenced the award of contracts to Apprio and Vistant by manipulating the procurement process at USAID through various means, including recommending their companies to other USAID decisionmakers for non-competitive contract awards, disclosing sensitive procurement information during the competitive bidding process, providing positive performance evaluations to a government agency, and approving decisions on the contracts, such as increased funding and a security clearance," the press release read.
In connection with the fraud scheme, Apprio and Vistant agreed to admit criminal liability and engage in deferred prosecution agreements for three years, which require the companies to submit disclosures to the DOJ.
"As part of these resolutions, both Apprio and Vistant admitted to engaging in a conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and securities fraud," the department stated.
The DOJ noted Apprio's and Vistant's cooperation in its investigation and credited the companies for their "timely remedial measures."
RELATED: Republicans to watch when Trump’s $9.4 billion cut comes to the Senate
Watson pleaded guilty to bribery by a public official and faces up to 15 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for October 6.
Barnes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and securities fraud. His sentencing is slated for October 14, and he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Britt pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and faces up to five years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for July 28.
Young pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official. He is looking at a maximum penalty of five years in prison and faces sentencing on September 3.
A senior State Department official told Blaze News, "These guilty pleas further underscore the need for State Department oversight over U.S. foreign aid. A former USAID employee and three others were using funds to pay for things like a lavish country club wedding and a Martha's Vineyard estate, all on the taxpayer's dime. The Trump administration remains relentless in defending American taxpayers' dollars and weeding out waste, fraud, and abuse from our federal government."
Apprio Inc., and Vistant did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
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Congress to codify DOGE cuts while conservatives lead the charge
The House is set to vote on the first rescissions package on Thursday, which would codify $9.4 billion worth of spending cuts.
Although certain provisions have become controversial to Democrats and some moderate Republicans, conservatives in the House have championed the Department of Government Efficiency cuts. This specific package would cut $1.1 billion in foreign aid, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, and it would kneecap biased media platforms like PBS and NPR that have been publicly funded through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
While $9.4 billion is just a drop in the bucket, conservative lawmakers told Blaze News this is just the first step toward "restoring sanity to Washington's reckless spending culture."
Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, told Blaze News that he was confident the DOGE cuts will pass and indicated that he would send more to Capitol Hill if it proved to be an effective tool to rein in spending.
'This rescissions package is just the tip of the iceberg.'
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“H.R. 4 is a strong first step toward restoring sanity to Washington’s reckless spending culture,” Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina told Blaze News. “It eliminates $9.4 billion in bloated foreign aid programs and taxpayer-funded liberal media like NPR and PBS. These are the kinds of cuts the American people expect from a Republican majority that promised fiscal responsibility.”
“The House Freedom Caucus fully supports this package and the broader effort to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington," Norman added. "And this is just the start.”
The House first passed a rule Wednesday night in a 213-207 vote that allows it to proceed with the vote on the rescissions package Thursday. The rule also implemented changes to the "big, beautiful bill," which prompted a "no" vote from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
Despite this, Massie maintained that his opposition was to the changes to reconciliation and that he plans to vote in favor of the DOGE cuts.
RELATED: White House works to send DOGE cuts package to Congress
Massie has bucked his party on multiple key votes this Congress, but even he joined the House Freedom Caucus and other conservatives in backing the DOGE cuts.
"We have always known there is waste in government, and this rescissions package is just the tip of the iceberg,” Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana told Blaze News. “I stand with HFC in urging Speaker Johnson to get the cuts to the House floor, then to the president’s desk as quickly as possible. Americans do not want their tax dollars spent on woke programs overseas or at home and it is about time they got their money back!”
"The duty of Congress is to represent The People, and today the House Freedom Caucus will do exactly that — by voting in support of the rescissions package," Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania told Blaze News. "This will codify the massively popular cuts in waste, fraud, and abuse rampant across the federal government, enacts my No Propaganda bill to defund NPR and PBS, and finally topples USAID — the golden goose of the globalist left. Let’s get this across the finish line once and for all.”
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Clinton judge blocked workforce cuts — yet Rubio just proved with USAID that where there's a will, there's a way
A Clinton judge barred the Trump administration last month from executing any large-scale reductions in force in order to "preserve the status quo."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered on Tuesday the termination of the U.S. Agency for International Development's remaining overseas staff, demonstrating that some obstacles created by meddlesome federal judges can easily be surmounted.
How it started
A gang of labor unions, leftist NGOs, and local governments sued the Trump administration in late April, hoping to block the government's reduction-in-force plans.
Their complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, suggested that the "president does not possess authority to reorganize, downsize, or otherwise transform the agencies of the federal government, unless and until Congress authorizes such action" and argued that President Donald Trump's Feb. 11 executive order aimed at "eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity" was unlawful.
'Every day that the preliminary injunction remains in effect, a government-wide program to implement agency RIFs is being halted and delayed.'
The plaintiffs demanded the court: declare that Trump had violated the Constitution; declare that the White House's Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Government Efficiency "exceeded statutory authority and acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner"; vacate Trump's executive order and relevant agency memoranda; and restrain the Trump administration from enforcing Trump's workforce executive order.
They found a sympathetic U.S. district court judge in Susan Illston, a Clinton appointee who came recommended by former Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.
RELATED: USAID program contractor defrauds taxpayers of $100,000 in latest agency scandal
Illston granted the gang of change-averse plaintiffs a temporary restraining order on May 9, then hit the administration with an injunction on May 22, blocking Trump's executive order and barring 20 executive-branch entities and "any other individuals acting under their authority or the authority of the president" from executing any reductions in force.
Illston stated that "the president likely must request congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks."
After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit refused to overturn the Clinton judge's order, the Trump administration asked for the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.
U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer noted in the government's request for a stay that "every day that the preliminary injunction remains in effect, a government-wide program to implement agency RIFs is being halted and delayed, maintaining a bloated and inefficient workforce while wasting countless taxpayer dollars."
"The inevitable consequence is to compel federal agencies to keep large numbers of employees on the payroll without necessity, at unrecoverable taxpayer expense, thereby frustrating the government’s efforts to impose budgetary discipline and build a more efficient workforce," wrote Sauer.
The solicitor general also suggested that the "district court's novel imposition of limits on the president’s ability to control executive agencies in exercising their power over personnel is the same type of important question of federal law that warrants this Court’s review."
The gang responded on Monday, asking the high court to keep Illston's order in place.
How it's going
On Tuesday, Rubio told American embassies around the world to get cracking on abolishing all USAID positions, noting in a cable obtained by the Guardian that the State Department "is streamlining procedures under National Security Decision Directive 38 to abolish all USAID overseas positions."
The national security directive cited by Rubio gives the highest-ranking diplomat assigned to a given country control of the size, composition, and mandate of overseas staffing for U.S. government agencies.
'It shouldn't surprise anyone.'
All USAID positions will reportedly be erased by Sept. 30. This will impact hundreds of staff, including contractors, locally employed workers, and foreign service officers.
The secretary noted further that the State Department would take over the agency's foreign assistance programs by next week.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Tuesday "that was not a surprise. It shouldn't surprise anyone."
"It’s nothing new, and it is exactly what we previewed in February and March of this year," said Bruce, adding that the aim of the change is to make sure that America's aid efforts around the world correspond with the "America First agenda."
Rubio made the order days after Bill Gates reportedly made a secret visit to the White House and begged him to reverse course on changes to the foreign aid regime.
It appears that Gates' last-ditch charm offensive, first reported by Tara Palmeri of the Red Letter, was no more effective than his USAID-themed smear campaign, where he characterized Elon Musk as a hard-hearted killer of millions.
The plaintiffs for whom Judge Illston blocked Trump's executive order claimed that Rubio's recent action appears to violate the federal court's injunction, reported the Associated Press.
However, Daniel Holler, Rubio's deputy chief of staff, clarified in a Monday court filing that the actions taken with regard to USAID staffers predate the blocked Trump order.
Holler noted that:
- Rubio got the ball rolling on developing "a plan to reorganize the Department to be more streamlined and to advance the administration's core America First diplomatic priorities" in late January;
- Rubio informed Congress of his intention to explore "a potential reorganization of USAID and/or its potential absorption by the Department of State" in a Feb. 3 letter;
- subsequent reorganization efforts were "undertaken solely at the direction and discretion of Secretary Rubio" and predate Trump's February order;
- the reorganization is intended to address foreign policy needs, an assertion that appears to hint at the limits of Illston's jurisdiction.
When asked about the significance of these firings and the broader cleanup at USAID, a State Department spokesperson told Blaze News, "Under President Trump's leadership, Secretary Rubio is taking a historic step in realigning how the United States delivers foreign aid and implements its America First Foreign Policy to ensure foreign assistance advances U.S. national interests."
"In connection with the Department assuming responsibility for limited former USAID programming, the Secretary approved the hiring of certain positions for both American (U.S. direct hire) and locally employed staff," added the spokesperson.
In terms of next steps, the spokesperson indicated that the U.S. will continue to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance but noted "the United States cannot feed the world alone. We ask capable nations to increase their share of the burden for life-saving foreign aid."
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The sanctimonious U2 front man claims 300,000 people have died because of the Trump administration, but that isn't true.Elon Musk formally departs from DOGE following a tumultuous tenure
Elon Musk is officially stepping down from President Donald Trump's administration after 128 days of heading the Department of Government Efficiency.
Although his tenure was brief, Musk had his fair share of controversy and criticism from legacy media, even bucking the administration at times. Despite the dramatic saga, Musk was celebrated and commended by the administration and its allies after he announced his departure.
"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk announced Wednesday night. "The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."
'A grateful nation thanks you.'
RELATED: Elon Musk takes jab at Trump’s 'big, beautiful, bill': 'I was disappointed'
Whether it's outrage over the United States Agency for International Development or the scandal surrounding the teenage engineer formally known as "Big Balls" and all the subsequent trolling, the DOGE has been a constant fan for the flames of controversy. Most recently, Musk defied the administration and expressed disapproval over Trump's "big, beautiful bill," which barely passed the House last week.
Nevertheless, administration officials and MAGA allies praised Musk and his mission at the DOGE.
"The work DOGE has done to eliminate government waste and corruption — the rot embedded deep within Washington — is among the most valuable services ever rendered to government," White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said. "And the work has only just begun."
RELATED: White House works to send DOGE cuts package to Congress
"Thank you, Elon Musk," Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk said. "A grateful nation thanks you. You changed the culture of the federal government for the better — an incredibly difficult feat — a legacy that will have ramifications for many, many administrations to come."
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White House works to send DOGE cuts package to Congress
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images"Elon Musk and the entire DOGE team have done INCREDIBLE work exposing waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government — from the insanity of USAID's spending to finding over 12 million people on Social Security who were over 120 years old," Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday.
"The House is eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings so we can deliver even more cuts to big government that President Trump wants and the American people demand," Johnson added.
Some of these programs include a $3 million grant to fund Iraqi "Sesame Street" through USAID, as well as another $3 million for circumcisions, vasectomies, and condoms in Zambia and $5.1 million toward the "resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer global movements" through the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
NPR and PBS also become a target of OMB's imminent rescission package because they have functionally served as left-wing outlets subsidized by taxpayers. NPR CEO Katherine Maher has previously referred to Trump as a "fascist" and a "deranged racist," while PBS has featured multiple programs glamorizing transgenderism, including one show about a trans-identifying man who "comes out to her old-school Ohio bowling league."
RELATED: Who is bankrolling the anti-MAHA movement?
The Trump administration's latest push for Congress to get moving on DOGE cuts comes after Elon Musk himself expressed disappointment with the "big, beautiful bill." Musk cited concerns over spending, saying it "undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing."
Republican lawmakers like Rep. Thomas Massie and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky also seemed unimpressed by Congress so far. At the same time, BlazeTV host Matt Kibbe told Blaze News that there is still time to preserve the MAGA movement before the midterms.
"Losing Elon Musk and the DOGE wing of the Trump electoral coalition will be devastating to the GOP’s midterm prospects," Kibbe said. "But there’s still time."
"As Senator Rand Paul has been pointing out, all of the proposed DOGE cuts can be accomplished through expedited presidential rescission legislation, only requiring 51 votes in the Senate," Kibbe added. "Why not show us what savings can be accomplished before attempting to pass the 'big, beautiful bill,' which includes a $5 trillion increase in the debt limit and $350 billion in new spending?"
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USAID program contractor defrauds taxpayers of $100,000 in latest agency scandal
A former contractor with a program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development admitted to defrauding taxpayers of nearly $100,000, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
On Monday, Stephen Paul Edmund Sutton, a 53-year-old United Kingdom citizen, pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent kickback scheme from May through November 2015.
'This is why shutting down USAID is such a good policy.'
Sutton, employed through a contracting firm, previously worked as a logistics operations manager on a power distribution program in Pakistan that USAID funded.
The program, launched in September 2010, aimed to support Pakistan's energy sector by facilitating improvements to the country's "government-owned electric power distribution companies."
The U.S. Attorney's Office explained, "The main goal of the PDP was to improve the commercial performance of the participating distribution companies through technology upgrades and improvements in processes, procedures, and practices, as well as training and capacity building. Under the PDP contract, Sutton's employer subcontracted through purchase orders with vendors in Pakistan for certain goods and services."
RELATED: USAID staff told to shred, burn sensitive documents
RELATED: Trump admin slashes 83% of USAID programs: Rubio
While employed, Sutton received "kickbacks of USAID funds used to pay for the services rendered."
After battling extradition for over two years, he pleaded guilty on Monday to "one count of conspiracy to commit theft concerning a program receiving federal funds."
Sutton was sentenced to time served and turned over to federal immigration authorities.
Sutton's supervisor also allegedly participated in the scheme. They apparently created two companies to obtain purchase orders for equipment. However, they reportedly distributed the profits to themselves by hiring "low-grade local vendors" to perform the work at a fraction of the contract rates.
"U.S. government sentencing documents indicate the agency was defrauded of almost $100,000 and that for his part, Sutton received at least $21,000 in kickbacks," the U.S. Attorney's Office stated. "Sutton's co-conspirator is also charged by indictment, and his case is pending disposition."
A State Department spokesperson told Blaze News, "This recent legal victory in federal court delivers much-needed accountability on an individual who conspired to steal tens of thousands of dollars from American taxpayers and divert resources away from lifesaving assistance."
"It is also just another reason why ensuring foreign aid contracts have proper oversight under the State Department is crucial to the future of how America administers aid," the spokesperson added.
USAID waste
Since President Donald Trump began his second term, USAID has been heavily scrutinized for its wasteful spending and vulnerability to fraudulent activity.
The Department of Government Efficiency previously uncovered millions of dollars in wasteful spending on propaganda, climate hysteria, LGBT advocacy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
As a result, the Trump administration has pushed to significantly restructure USAID, including moving it under the domain of the Department of State and eliminating most of its programs.
Oversight Project President Mike Howell told Blaze News, "A great way to prevent fraud and abuse in government spending is to throw less money around third-world countries that passes through the hands of contractors and other entities. The idea that we can ever competently and safely spend money in those regions without it being siphoned off is lunacy. This is why shutting down USAID is such a good policy."
Editor's note: Mike Howell is a contributor to Blaze News.
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