A senior official at the U.S. Agency for International Development instructed the agency’s remaining staff on Tuesday to pull classified and personal documents from safes and shred and burn them, according to an email verified by The New York Times.

“Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,” read the email written by acting USAID executive secretary Erica Y. Carr.

The Times reported it is unclear if Carr got permission from the National Archives and Records Administration to destroy the documents. The Federal Records Act of 1950 mandates government workers obtain approval from NARA before destroying documents.

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