Alleged USAID whistleblower calls out ‘culture of corruption’

Nick Shirley interviews Mark Moyer, who identifies himself as a USAID whistleblower, to discuss what Moyer alleges is widespread corruption and mismanagement within the agency.

According to Moyer, upon joining USAID in February 2018, one of his first experiences was mandatory diversity training that included a “privilege walk” exercise where employees were assigned identities and asked to step forward based on discriminatory scenarios they might face. Moyer claims this orientation activity exemplified what he saw as the agency’s misplaced priorities—focusing on diversity initiatives rather than rooting out fraud and waste.

Moyer further alleges that USAID engaged in systematic relabeling of programs to obscure their true purposes and spending. In the video, Nick Shirley notes that Moyer claims a women’s book club started under the Obama administration was later rebranded as a “counter-terrorism program” during the Trump administration, with the justification that feminist women were key to fighting terrorism. Moyer alleges this rebranding allowed the agency to continue funding programs under different categorical justifications.

According to Moyer, when he reported a subordinate for alleged criminal conflict of interest, he faced retaliation rather than support. Moyer claims that after making his report, he was later accused of publishing classified information in a document he had written years earlier—an accusation he alleges was baseless and had never previously been challenged. Moyer states he was ultimately fired based on this allegation, while those allegedly engaged in corruption retained their positions. He claims this demonstrates what he calls a “culture of corruption” where whistleblowers face weaponized investigations while actual misconduct goes unpunished.

Moyer alleges that USAID officials stonewalled his attempts to obtain information and that even during the first Trump administration’s review efforts in 2019, hidden programs remained undiscovered. He claims bureaucrats developed sophisticated methods to conceal spending and mislabel initiatives. Regarding current oversight efforts, Moyer states that forensic accountants will be needed to uncover years of accumulated financial obfuscation.

The conversation also addresses allegations about government spending on media. Moyer expresses concern that the Biden administration allegedly paid $26 million to Politico, a news outlet he claims ran unfavorable stories about Trump appointees sourced from anonymous bureaucrats. He suggests this represents inappropriate government subsidy of media.

This matters because whistleblower protections and internal agency accountability are central to preventing sustained fraud in federal spending. Moyer’s allegations—if accurate—suggest that institutional barriers may discourage reporting of misconduct and that program relabeling could mask wasteful or fraudulent spending patterns across federal agencies.

In Nick Shirley’s Own Words

“There’s a culture of corruption that says if you criticize anything corrupt, we’re going to come after you and use tools supposed to go after criminals to come after you.”

“They’re very effective at rebranding things. A feminist women’s book club was now said to be a counter-terror program because women are key fighters against terrorism.”

“Even in 2019, more than two years after the Trump administration came in, we were still finding programs that political appointees didn’t know about.”