President Donald Trump’s administration fired the country’s top copyright official only days after ousting the Librarian of Congress.
Shira Perlmutter, who oversaw the United States Copyright Office, an office under the Library of Congress, was unexpectedly fired, according to Fox News.
The U.S. Copyright Office informed the source that Perlmutter received an email from the White House stating, “Your position as the Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office is terminated effective immediately.”
On Thursday, President Trump fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. Her departure was considered as part of the administration’s larger campaign to replace personnel deemed hostile to Trump’s goals.
Hayden appointed Shira Perlmutter to lead the Copyright Office in October 2020. According to The Associated Press, Hayden and Perlmutter were notified of their dismissals by email.
“Carla,” the letter to Hayden started. “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as Librarian of Congress has been terminated, effective immediately.” “Thank you for your service,” it concluded.
Meanwhile, a USAID official in charge of managing agency contracts formed a phony organization to fraudulently receive coronavirus relief funding for personal benefit, federal authorities said Friday.
“Yusuf Akoll worked as a Senior Procurement Contract Specialist at the U.S. Agency for International Development,” according to a previously unknown court filing. “From at least in or around March 2021, and continuing through at least in or around August 2021, Akoll [made] materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements…that resulted in Akoll receiving two [Paycheck Protection Program] loans totaling approximately $16,666 that he was not entitled to receive.”
Prosecutors say that in November 2020, Akoll established Naagode Consulting LLC in Virginia and then sought for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan via the federal COVID-19 relief program. He claimed to work for Naagode and that the monies were needed to avert layoffs.
However, qualifying for the program required enterprises to be operational by February 2020, forcing Akoll to incorrectly identify the company’s start date as January 2020. To explain the loan, he claimed the firm generated $40,000 in 2019, despite having no income, according to authorities.
Akoll was charged with making false statements in federal court in Washington, D.C., via a “information,” which normally signals that a plea deal is in the works, according to the Daily Wire.
The loan was authorized, demonstrating how irresponsibly the government handled enormous sums of money during the coronavirus outbreak. Akoll’s claim that the firm made $40,000 in 2019 flatly contradicts his own claim that it was started in January 2020.
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