This needed to happen!
Investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger has recently uncovered startling revelations linking the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which Trump just dissolved, and the CIA to the 2019 impeachment of President Donald Trump. Shellenberger’s investigation, shared with his audience on social media, claims that these agencies played a central role in orchestrating the impeachment effort—a move that he argues mirrors the regime-change tactics commonly used abroad by these very organizations.
According to Shellenberger, USAID, which is often presented as a benevolent force for international development, is actually a $40 billion powerhouse for promoting regime change in foreign countries. He further alleges that it, alongside the CIA, was instrumental in the illegal attempt to remove a sitting president through the 2019 impeachment. The charge stemmed from a whistleblower’s claims that President Trump had sought to withhold military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the country into investigating Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
The whistleblower in question was reportedly a CIA analyst, one brought into the White House during the Obama administration, further linking the intelligence community to the events. Shellenberger’s findings shed light on a web of connections, suggesting that the CIA and USAID, in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), were deeply involved in shaping the narrative that led to Trump’s impeachment.
A 2024 documentary by German TV network NDR included confirmations from USAID officials that the agency not only supports OCCRP’s operations but directly influences its staffing decisions. Shellenberger highlights that OCCRP, which is purportedly an independent investigative group, has been involved in regime-change operations across several countries. The journalist emphasizes that such actions, conducted on U.S. soil, represent a clear violation of U.S. law and are dangerously close to treason.
Ultimately, Shellenberger argues that the interference by the CIA, USAID, and OCCRP in domestic politics is not just unlawful, but also a dangerous overreach of government power. The implication is clear: what the public was led to believe was a purely political matter may, in fact, have been a foreign-style coup attempt, right here at home.