In a significant win for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Trump’s America First agenda, four swamp creatures, including USAID contracting officer Roderick Watson and businessmen Walter Barnes, Darryl Britt, and Paul Young, pleaded guilty in a $550 million bribery scheme.
For context, Watson received over $1 million in bribes, including cash, NBA tickets, and a country club wedding, in exchange for offering preferential treatment to certain contractors. The scandal, which was exposed after DOGE’s financial audit, has justified MAGA’s criticism of USAID.
Despite the blatant corruption, Democrats protested the agency’s 83% budget cuts, claiming they would harm global aid recipients. Both the DOJ and USAID-OIG re-emphasized their commitment to combating fraud, highlighting the scheme’s betrayal of public trust and taxpayer funds, both of which were major promises of the Trump campaign.
Explaining the case, Sean Bottary, Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at USAID, said, “Corruption in government programs will not be tolerated. Watson abused his position of trust for personal gain while federal contractors engaged in a pay-to-play scheme. USAID-OIG is firmly committed to rooting out fraud and corruption within U.S. foreign assistance programs.”
Continuing his reaction, Bottary added, “Today’s announcement underscores our unwavering focus on exposing criminal activity, including bribery schemes by those entrusted to faithfully award government contracts. We appreciate our longstanding partnership with the Department of Justice in holding accountable those who defraud American taxpayers.”
Building on this point, Matthew R. Galeotti, who serves as Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, stated, “Anybody who cares about good and effective government should be concerned about the waste, fraud, and abuse in government agencies, including USAID.”
As we reported, reacting to the same case, prominent conservative Libs of TikTok, on June 13, 2025, took to X, formerly Twitter, and said, “BREAKING: USAID official and three company executives plead guilty in fraud and bribery scheme involving at least 14 contracts worth over $550 million.”
Continuing her exposé, she stated, “USAID Official Roderick Watson took bribes, was showered with lavish gifts— including cash, laptops, thousands of dollars in tickets to a suite at an NBA game, a country club wedding, downpayments on two residential mortgages, cell phones, and jobs for relatives.”
Concluding her post, she explained, “In exchange for the bribe payments, Watson influenced the award of contracts by manipulating the procurement process at USAID. Watson faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Imagine how much more fraud there is…”
l post, Elon Musk, the former head of DOGE, laconically said, “This is just the tip of the iceberg.” In the comments under his reaction, conservatives left hundreds of responses to the shocking crimes of Watson and USAID.
In the comments under her post, conservatives were enraged by the corruption. One such comment said, “Thus so much resistance to DOGE. The criminals are being exposed. So many evil people will face legal accountability if DOGE continues their work with ferocity.” Building on this point, another user noted, “What blows my mind is not the corruption, that’s normal.. it’s the astronomical amounts we are talking about.”