The Department of Justice has launched a preliminary inquiry into possible criminal conduct by former officials at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), following an extraordinary standoff over the Trump administration’s federally mandated leadership transition at the agency.
According to a senior DOJ official who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation on condition of anonymity, investigators are assessing whether USIP staff may have committed criminal offenses, including obstruction of federal operations and the creation of fire hazards through the removal and destruction of door locks—both internal and external—at the institute’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.
The incident follows President Trump’s March 14 appointment of Kenneth Jackson as acting president of USIP, a move that came in response to the institute’s alleged failure to comply with Executive Order 14183. The order directed federally funded organizations to reduce their operations to only what is required by statute, triggering a major shakeup of the institute’s board and leadership.
Instead of complying, USIP leadership resisted. Internal documents obtained by the DCNF reveal that planning for defiance began as early as February 6, prior to the issuance of the executive order. The document outlined efforts to block building access for incoming administration officials and emphasized USIP’s claimed control over security systems.
Compounding matters, flyers circulated within USIP’s offices instructed staff not to cooperate with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials and to report their presence immediately. Photographs of DOGE personnel were reportedly posted throughout the building.
When DOGE officials, accompanied by law enforcement, arrived to implement the transition, they were turned away by USIP’s legal counsel. Over the weekend, USIP leaders escalated the situation further by cutting off internet and phone systems, terminating private security, and resorting to walkie-talkie communications within the building. By Monday, officials returning to the site found themselves locked out, with staff barricaded on the fifth floor.
The Metropolitan Police Department only intervened after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. requested assistance. Officers ultimately accessed the fifth floor via emergency stairwells and removed former USIP President George Moose and several others from the premises.
While a federal judge declined to halt the leadership change, she criticized DOGE’s coordination with law enforcement during the enforcement of the executive order. However, legal analysts note that the conduct by USIP staff—if proven—could constitute criminal obstruction of a lawful federal directive.
At this stage, the DOJ has not disclosed the names of individuals under investigation, nor a timeline for charging decisions. However, the agency’s decision to explore charges indicates the seriousness of the events and the potential consequences for what may amount to an unprecedented act of institutional defiance.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly pointed out the administration’s stance: “Rogue bureaucrats will not be allowed to hold agencies hostage. The Trump administration will enforce the President’s executive authority and ensure his agencies remain accountable to the American people.”
