Campaign ally sowed trail of enmity during first Trump presidency and allegedly was present at January 6 riot
www.theguardian.com
“… Marocco’s return to USAid has not been formally announced and the department website still lists a previous director for the office of foreign assistance. Many staff only learned that Marocco had been appointed from emails and cables drafted by him ordering them to stop work.
… A former marine and conservative activist from Dallas, Marocco served short stints of just a year each at the state department, commerce department, defense department and USAid during the first Trump presidency. In 2020, a 13-page complaint by USAid staffers was
placed in its dissent channel – a framework for foreign service staff to express constructive criticism – accusing Marocco of undermining and micromanaging employees in a way that “rapidly degraded” a small department focused on political transitions. Critics say he is now applying the same playbook of laborious reviews and vague directives to all of USAid.
…
Marocco was also allegedly photographed and filmed inside the Capitol building during the January 6 riots, according to volunteer activists who have posted a
widely cited investigation. Marocco has not been charged with a crime. Asked about the allegation
by D Magazine, Marocco did not address whether he had been at the Capitol, but described it as “petty smear tactics and desperate personal attacks”.
He joined Trump’s transition team in December as an adviser on national security personnel matters.
“Democrats and their allies in the media who think they are going to obstruct our ability to deliver on this mandate by going back to the same January 6 playbook of smears and faux outrage that was soundly rejected by the American people will be disappointed,” Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told Politico at the time. …”