“It was a brief mention of, yes, they are considering referrals to DOJ,” Rep. Keith Self (R-TX), who was in the briefing, told the Washington Examiner. “There were no specifics.”

Marocco did not provide information on whether it was regarding USAID employees or funding recipients, according to Self.

“If they’re telling members of Congress that they are even considering a referral, I would think they’ve got a pretty good case or they think they’ve got a pretty good case,” he said. “We go by the rule of law, so if there’s criminal activity, I would expect them to refer them to a DA, DOJ, AG, somebody. It’s as simple as that. I’m not thinking about it in terms of agenda. I’m thinking about it in terms of the rule of law.”

Two other sources confirmed Marocco mentioned criminal referrals but similarly did not detail specifics.

“It is in response to mismanagement of aid and fraud, waste and abuse that potentially rose to the level of criminality,” one source said.

A second source added, “It’s the end result of the rot at USAID and the Trump admin cleaning it out and exposing this.”

The State Department declined to confirm Marocco’s comments because “as a general matter,” the department does not issue statements on “communications and briefings with Congress,” a spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment related to what the department would do with the referrals.

USAID has become a political lightning rod for the Trump administration and Elon Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency drastically reformed the agency in the first few weeks of the new presidency, rehoming a slimmed-down organization within the State Department. 

It is one of several departments and agencies that Musk and his team have dismantled as part of their mission to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, prompting sharp criticism from Democrats who contend the Tesla mogul-turned-Trump-adviser is overstepping his authority.

Democrats have also expressed concern that reducing foreign aid will decrease the U.S.’s soft diplomatic power amid China‘s rise.

The White House has supported Musk throughout the USAID reforms, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt describing a list of the agency’s projects as “crap” that taxpayers should not be funding.

Former USAID Inspector General Paul Martin, appointed by former President Joe Biden before Trump fired him last month, sent a memo to then-USAID acting Administrator Jason Gray and his chief of staff Matt Hopson in January criticizing the agency for not properly vetting aid organization partners for connections to designated terrorist organizations and known corrupt actors, in addition to a lack of data regarding USAID funding recipients.

“Obtaining information from U.N. agencies remains a lengthy and frustrating undertaking, delaying OIG’s ability to investigate allegations of fraud, sexual abuse, and other matters such as,” Martin wrote.

Wednesday’s meeting comes after the Supreme Court declined to intervene with respect to a lower court order that prevented the Trump administration’s 90-day freeze on foreign aid funding from going into effect, requiring the administration to pay $2 billion immediately. Court filings demonstrate that Trump was moving to terminate more than 90% of USAID’s grants or almost 5,800 contracts.