The federal swamp has been exposed—and it’s worse than anyone imagined.
In a stunning revelation on Monday, Elon Musk, head of the Trump-appointed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), accused the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) of deleting a terabyte of financial data in a desperate bid to cover up widespread corruption.
This accusation comes amid an intense showdown between DOGE and USIP, a taxpayer-funded organization that President Donald Trump had ordered to be shut down earlier this year.
Tensions reached a breaking point last month when Musk’s efficiency team, supported by FBI agents and D.C. Metro Police, stormed the USIP headquarters, forcibly removing its staff after days of resistance.
“The Department of Government Efficiency’s discovery at the United States Institute of Peace reveals Washington’s dirty secret: agencies often do precisely the opposite of their stated mission.
When DOGE investigators finally gained access to USIP’s books—after days of institutional resistance requiring FBI intervention—they uncovered the unthinkable: $132,000 funneled to a former Taliban member and $1.3 million to an Iraqi organization with questionable ties.
This fits a devastating pattern. A 2019 Special Inspector General report found $19 billion in U.S. aid to Afghanistan was unaccounted for or misused between 2002-2016, showing how routinely taxpayer money flows to our adversaries under noble pretenses.
Even more disturbing was the attempted cover-up. USIP officials deleted a terabyte of financial data hoping to hide their tracks, not realizing DOGE’s technological capabilities would recover everything—a perfect example of the 65% of federal agencies still using outdated IT systems vulnerable to mismanagement.
America ranks a dismal 27th in global transparency rankings, behind much smaller nations. From the Pentagon’s $125 billion in administrative waste to the IRS’s $1.2 billion in improper payments, the pattern is undeniable.
Elon’s technology-driven audits are precisely what these institutions fear most—sunlight on decades of deception.”
“Any government institution is most likely to be the opposite of its name,” Musk wrote on X.
He added, “They deleted a terabyte of financial data to cover their crimes, but they don’t understand technology, so we recovered it.”
Any government institution is most likely to be the opposite of its name https://t.co/hUfinp5Ujm
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2025