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USAID is set to shut down this Friday. Most of its employees will be put on leave as the agency gets merged into the State Department. Under President Trump's direction, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has uncovered a lot of corruption, waste, and fraud that's not exactly surprising but still pretty shocking. Democrats are really upset about this agency being dismantled, and there might be a reason for that. It looks like they helped fund and had a big role in the 2019 impeachment of Donald Trump.
The agency seems to have been behind the scenes of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which was referenced several times by the CIA whistleblower who started the whole impeachment drama about Trump, Ukraine, and military aid. Independent journalists Michael Shellenberger and Alex Gutentag did some serious digging into this shady government network, where OCCRP's purpose wasn't typical journalism—USAID seemed to have a big say in what they did, who they hired, and what their mission was.
This story on Public really got OCCRP upset, leading them to threaten Shellenberger and his team with a lawsuit, saying the story was wrong and damaging. But they didn't provide any evidence to counter the journalists' claims.
The second part of the story goes into detail about USAID's relationship with OCCRP, with OCCRP trying to distance itself. But even USAID officials have made statements that question OCCRP’s claim of being independent, which even respected news outlets like ProPublica acknowledge. Drop Site News, run by former Intercept reporters, did a good job exposing this murky relationship, and they've also faced legal threats. Here’s what was found in the investigation:
"In the complaint, the whistleblower claimed to have heard from White House staff that Trump had, on a phone call, directed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to investigate Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. The whistleblower who triggered the impeachment was a CIA analyst who was first brought into the White House by the Obama administration."
"Reporting by Drop Site News last year revealed that the CIA analyst relied on reporting by a supposedly independent investigative news organization called the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which appears to have effectively operated as an arm of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which President Trump has just shut down. The CIA whistleblower complaint cited a long report by OCCRP four times."
In a 2024 documentary by Germany’s NDR about OCCRP’s ties to the US government, a USAID official confirmed that USAID oversees OCCRP’s "annual work plan" and approves key hires. NDR worked with several media organizations on this investigation, including Mediapart, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Reporters United, and Drop Site News.
However, according to Mediapart, NDR censored the broadcast after "US journalist Drew Sullivan, the co-founder and head of the OCCRP, placed pressure on the NDR management and made false accusations against the broadcaster’s journalists involved in the project."
On December 16, Ryan Grim from Drop Site posted a link on X to the 26-minute documentary. “NDR, Germany’s public broadcaster, is facing a censorship scandal and has defended itself by saying it never killed a news report about OCCRP and its State Department funding — b/c no report was ever produced to kill,” said Grim. “That was absurd — and dozens, maybe hundreds, of journalists knew it to be false, and now of course, someone has leaked it.”
This investigation showed that OCCRP got its initial funding from the State Department, and a USAID official noted, “Drew’s just nervous about being linked with law enforcement,” referring to Sullivan. “If people who are going to give you information think you’re just a cop, maybe it’s a problem.”
OCCRP doesn’t work like typical investigative journalists; it seems they aim to interfere in foreign politics, including elections, to change regimes. Sullivan told NDR his group had “probably been responsible for five or six countries changing over from one government to another government… and getting prime ministers indicted or thrown out.”
This means the CIA, USAID, and OCCRP were involved in Trump's impeachment in ways similar to how they operate abroad, which is illegal and possibly treasonous when done in the U.S.
We thought the Clinton Foundation was bad, but USAID makes it look like small-time players in the world of funding left-wing causes. They've also kept certain media outlets like Politico, Associated Press, The New York Times, and Reuters financially supported, which are key for pushing narratives.
Here are some more details from the Public piece about USAID and OCCRP:
OCCRP threatened Public with a lawsuit, claiming, “The premise of your article is factually false and defamatory,” wrote Miranda Patrucic, the Editor in Chief of OCCRP. “The claim by Dropsite News and partner media that USAID has control over editorial appointments has been disproven and we suggest you read our response to that.”
But there's no proof that Drop Site's allegations are wrong, and they stand by their reporting.
OCCRP says on their site that USAID's oversight is misunderstood, but there's nothing in the agreements suggesting USAID's control doesn’t affect the editorial content.
USAID official Shannon McGuire emphasized in the NDR documentary that USAID controlled OCCRP through what's called a “substantial involvement clause.”
Patrucic told Public, “I am the editor-in-chief of OCCRP and was appointed during a USAID grant, but my CV was never sent to USAID and no approval was sought or received. OCCRP is governed only by its board of directors and no one else.“
But another USAID official, Mike Henning, said to NDR filmmakers that USAID approval goes beyond just logistics or admin.
“A cooperative agreement has more strings attached,” said Henning, “than a grant… Some of the strings that are attached in a cooperative agreement are approval of key personnel, approval of an annual work plan, approval of sub grants of a certain amount above a certain amount.”
USAID would approve “the editor in chief or who’s the CEO, who’s the, you know, managing editor,” Henning added.
Meg Gaydosik from USAID admitted she helped push for funding for OCCRP and even helped rewrite their application for a major grant. She said, “It was from USAID,” about OCCRP’s initial support.
OCCRP also threatened Drop Site News with legal action. “The news outlets involved in this project, including Drop Site, have been on the unpleasant end of increasingly aggressive legal threats from Drew Sullivan, co-founder and head of OCCRP,” the authors wrote. “While we strived to be as fair as possible, and have posted most of Sullivan’s responses, what we’re not going to do, of course, is back down to threats, even ones backed with the resources of the federal government.”
In the end, we're left with the CIA whistleblower citing an OCCRP report, which is closely linked with USAID, in the impeachment of President Trump in 2019. With USAID shutting down its overseas missions this Friday, the flow of funds might stop, but what other secrets are hidden in these grants? The Department of Government Efficiency will continue to investigate.
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The agency seems to have been behind the scenes of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which was referenced several times by the CIA whistleblower who started the whole impeachment drama about Trump, Ukraine, and military aid. Independent journalists Michael Shellenberger and Alex Gutentag did some serious digging into this shady government network, where OCCRP's purpose wasn't typical journalism—USAID seemed to have a big say in what they did, who they hired, and what their mission was.
This story on Public really got OCCRP upset, leading them to threaten Shellenberger and his team with a lawsuit, saying the story was wrong and damaging. But they didn't provide any evidence to counter the journalists' claims.
The second part of the story goes into detail about USAID's relationship with OCCRP, with OCCRP trying to distance itself. But even USAID officials have made statements that question OCCRP’s claim of being independent, which even respected news outlets like ProPublica acknowledge. Drop Site News, run by former Intercept reporters, did a good job exposing this murky relationship, and they've also faced legal threats. Here’s what was found in the investigation:
"In the complaint, the whistleblower claimed to have heard from White House staff that Trump had, on a phone call, directed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to investigate Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. The whistleblower who triggered the impeachment was a CIA analyst who was first brought into the White House by the Obama administration."
"Reporting by Drop Site News last year revealed that the CIA analyst relied on reporting by a supposedly independent investigative news organization called the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which appears to have effectively operated as an arm of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which President Trump has just shut down. The CIA whistleblower complaint cited a long report by OCCRP four times."
In a 2024 documentary by Germany’s NDR about OCCRP’s ties to the US government, a USAID official confirmed that USAID oversees OCCRP’s "annual work plan" and approves key hires. NDR worked with several media organizations on this investigation, including Mediapart, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Reporters United, and Drop Site News.
However, according to Mediapart, NDR censored the broadcast after "US journalist Drew Sullivan, the co-founder and head of the OCCRP, placed pressure on the NDR management and made false accusations against the broadcaster’s journalists involved in the project."
On December 16, Ryan Grim from Drop Site posted a link on X to the 26-minute documentary. “NDR, Germany’s public broadcaster, is facing a censorship scandal and has defended itself by saying it never killed a news report about OCCRP and its State Department funding — b/c no report was ever produced to kill,” said Grim. “That was absurd — and dozens, maybe hundreds, of journalists knew it to be false, and now of course, someone has leaked it.”
This investigation showed that OCCRP got its initial funding from the State Department, and a USAID official noted, “Drew’s just nervous about being linked with law enforcement,” referring to Sullivan. “If people who are going to give you information think you’re just a cop, maybe it’s a problem.”
OCCRP doesn’t work like typical investigative journalists; it seems they aim to interfere in foreign politics, including elections, to change regimes. Sullivan told NDR his group had “probably been responsible for five or six countries changing over from one government to another government… and getting prime ministers indicted or thrown out.”
This means the CIA, USAID, and OCCRP were involved in Trump's impeachment in ways similar to how they operate abroad, which is illegal and possibly treasonous when done in the U.S.
We thought the Clinton Foundation was bad, but USAID makes it look like small-time players in the world of funding left-wing causes. They've also kept certain media outlets like Politico, Associated Press, The New York Times, and Reuters financially supported, which are key for pushing narratives.
Here are some more details from the Public piece about USAID and OCCRP:
OCCRP threatened Public with a lawsuit, claiming, “The premise of your article is factually false and defamatory,” wrote Miranda Patrucic, the Editor in Chief of OCCRP. “The claim by Dropsite News and partner media that USAID has control over editorial appointments has been disproven and we suggest you read our response to that.”
But there's no proof that Drop Site's allegations are wrong, and they stand by their reporting.
OCCRP says on their site that USAID's oversight is misunderstood, but there's nothing in the agreements suggesting USAID's control doesn’t affect the editorial content.
USAID official Shannon McGuire emphasized in the NDR documentary that USAID controlled OCCRP through what's called a “substantial involvement clause.”
Patrucic told Public, “I am the editor-in-chief of OCCRP and was appointed during a USAID grant, but my CV was never sent to USAID and no approval was sought or received. OCCRP is governed only by its board of directors and no one else.“
But another USAID official, Mike Henning, said to NDR filmmakers that USAID approval goes beyond just logistics or admin.
“A cooperative agreement has more strings attached,” said Henning, “than a grant… Some of the strings that are attached in a cooperative agreement are approval of key personnel, approval of an annual work plan, approval of sub grants of a certain amount above a certain amount.”
USAID would approve “the editor in chief or who’s the CEO, who’s the, you know, managing editor,” Henning added.
Meg Gaydosik from USAID admitted she helped push for funding for OCCRP and even helped rewrite their application for a major grant. She said, “It was from USAID,” about OCCRP’s initial support.
OCCRP also threatened Drop Site News with legal action. “The news outlets involved in this project, including Drop Site, have been on the unpleasant end of increasingly aggressive legal threats from Drew Sullivan, co-founder and head of OCCRP,” the authors wrote. “While we strived to be as fair as possible, and have posted most of Sullivan’s responses, what we’re not going to do, of course, is back down to threats, even ones backed with the resources of the federal government.”
In the end, we're left with the CIA whistleblower citing an OCCRP report, which is closely linked with USAID, in the impeachment of President Trump in 2019. With USAID shutting down its overseas missions this Friday, the flow of funds might stop, but what other secrets are hidden in these grants? The Department of Government Efficiency will continue to investigate.
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