The administration of President Donald Trump terminated the nation’s leading copyright official merely days following the dismissal of the Librarian of Congress.
Shira Perlmutter, who was at the helm of the U.S. Copyright Office—an agency that operates under the Library of Congress—was unexpectedly dismissed, as reported by the Washington Post.
The U.S. Copyright Office communicated to the publication that Perlmutter had been notified via an email from the White House, which read, “Your role as the Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office is terminated, effective immediately.”
Days earlier, Trump dismissed Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. Her removal was seen as part of the administration’s larger initiative to replace officials perceived as opposed to Trump’s agenda.
In October 2020, Hayden appointed Shira Perlmutter to lead the Copyright Office. As reported by The Associated Press, both Hayden and Perlmutter were notified of their dismissals through email.
“Carla,” the letter addressed to Hayden commenced. “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. We appreciate your service,” it concluded.
In a recent announcement by federal prosecutors, it was revealed that a USAID employee tasked with managing agency contracts established a sham company to unlawfully acquire coronavirus relief funds for personal benefit.
“Yusuf Akoll served as a Senior Procurement Contract Specialist at the U.S. Agency for International Development,” as stated in a court document that had not been previously reported. “From at least around March 2021 and continuing through at least around August 2021, Akoll [made] materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements…which led to Akoll receiving two [Paycheck Protection Program] loans amounting to approximately $16,666 that he was not eligible to receive.”
Prosecutors assert that in November 2020, Akoll established a company in Virginia called Naagode Consulting LLC and subsequently sought a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan as part of the federal COVID-19 relief initiative. He purported to be employed by Naagode and indicated that the funds were necessary to prevent layoffs.
Nevertheless, to qualify for the program, businesses needed to be active as of February 2020, which led Akoll to inaccurately state the company’s inception date as January 2020. To rationalize the loan, he also asserted that the company generated $40,000 in 2019, even though it had no revenue whatsoever, as per the prosecutors’ claims.
Akoll faced charges for submitting false statements in federal court in Washington, D.C., via an “information,” a document that usually suggests a plea deal is being negotiated, as reported by the Daily Wire.
The approval of the loan emphasizes the reckless manner in which the government allocated substantial funds during the coronavirus pandemic. Akoll’s assertion that the company generated $40,000 in 2019 directly contradicts his own statement that it was not established until January 2020.
Officials from the Small Business Administration neglected to confirm the company’s formation date—information that is readily available through state corporation records—or to verify the reported income against federal tax returns, indicating a significant lack of fundamental due diligence. This situation also underscores the oversight deficiencies that the Department of Government Efficiency has prioritized in its mission to address.
USAID was discontinued, with its remaining responsibilities taken over by the State Department due to apprehensions from Republicans and the Department of Government Efficiency regarding extensive financial mismanagement. Records indicate that Akoll oversaw hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding allocated to foreign nations, funds that were frequently challenging to trace and monitor effectively.
Payments for coronavirus relief were issued under a “pay and chase” framework, where the government emphasized swift distribution with the anticipation that fraudulent claims would be addressed subsequently. Nevertheless, the Biden administration predominantly ceased efforts to reclaim those funds.
In the year 2023, the Biden administration declared that it would refrain from pursuing the collection of loans amounting to less than $100,000, which were technically mandated to be repaid, referencing concerns related to “equity.” Although the majority of loans were intended for forgiveness, recipients who did not satisfy the criteria for forgiveness remained responsible for repaying them.
