*USAID plunders voters in shocking bribery scheme
June 17, 2025 / Jakob Fay (blog)
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
and the Trump administration aren’t exactly on the best of terms.
Voters may recall that after President Donald Trump ordered a
“90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance” at
the start of his second term, the foreign aid agency emerged as an
early contender for the DOGE chopping block. “With regards to the
USAID stuff, I went over it with (the president) in detail and he
agreed that we should shut it down,” said Elon Musk. In March,
Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed he was canceling “83% of
the programs at USAID.”
More recently, the department confirmed it plans to eliminate
all overseas positions by the end of September, in what a former
official called “definitely the final closing out.”
The mainstream media-political establishment was horrified.
“Killing U.S.A.I.D. Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere,” The New
York Times summarized in a headline.
However, a recent shocking scandal underscores exactly why so
many Americans distrust bloated government agencies in general and
USAID in particular.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice,
a former USAID official and three corporate executives recently
pled guilty “for their roles in a decade-long bribery scheme in-
volving … over $550 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars.” Court docu-
ments reveal that Roderick Watson, a federal contracting officer
for USAID, agreed in 2013 to begin receiving bribes from Florida
business owner Darryl Britt in exchange for Watson’s help receiving
government contracts.
“The defendants sought to enrich themselves at the expense of
American taxpayers through bribery and fraud,” explained Matthew R.
Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“Anybody who cares about good and effective government should be
concerned about the waste, fraud, and abuse in government agencies,
including USAID.”
Over the years, Britt and two other colleagues, Walter Barnes
and Paul Young, “regularly funneled bribes to Watson, including
cash, laptops, thousands of dollars in tickets to a suite at an NBA
game, a country club wedding, down payments on two residential mort-
gages, cellular phones, and jobs for relatives.” Watson returned
the favor by “manipulating” USAID to secure over $550 million in
contracts for Britt’s businesses.
In other words, you, the taxpayer, footed the bill while
Watson pocketed extra cash, tickets to a professional sporting
event, and a free wedding.
This is nothing but a flagrant betrayal of the American people
— and, unfortunately, it’s probably more common than we realize.
“Watson was entrusted to serve the interests of the American
people — not his own — and his criminal actions for his own personal
gain undermine the integrity of our public institutions,” complained
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes. “Public trust is a hallmark of our
nation’s values, so corruption within a federal government agency is
intolerable.”
Fair enough. But let’s be honest: “public trust” in America is
a dead and dying myth — an antiquated fantasy from a bygone era.
The National Election Study has been polling Americans about
their trust in Washington to do the right thing since 1958. Over
the first several years of that survey, spanning the Eisenhower,
Kennedy, and Johnson presidencies, trust remained surprisingly high
(73-77%). However, it quickly began to fall, plummeting to 36% the
year Nixon resigned. Although that number flatlined for the rest of
the century and briefly peaked after the 9/11 terrorist attacks,
the share of Americans who say they trust the federal government
has not climbed higher than 30% since 2007.
We shouldn’t be surprised. USAID is one of many in a sea of
government agencies bent on plundering taxpayers and squandering
their money. Even before this scandal, Americans were already well
acquainted with a federal authority that enriched itself at their
expense. Trump may be keeping an eye on the problem, but not even
shuttering USAID will fix it.
Only through an Article V convention can we circumvent Con-
gress, force our representatives to curb their monstrous appetites
for spending, and constrain Washington to accept much-needed anti
-corruption reforms. Until then, you might as well sign, seal, and
personally deliver your hard-earned dollar to the DC graft and back
-scratching machine. Who knows? It may end up in the next $550
million bribery scheme!
If, however, you’re ready to rein in the federal government
and make it accountable to the sovereign citizens of the states
again, sign the COS petition below.*
The petition can be easily found online.
There are several Blue states considering joining the Conven-
tion of States. This is how we can get term limits and other bills
forced through the Congress.
With God's and everyone's help we can get to 34 states and
then this corruption will become unstoppable.
Pray and believe.
Conservatively,
John
Conservativelyjohn.com 