Former FEMA acting administrator Karen Evans has landed a new senior role at the Department of Homeland Security despite a court finding that she deleted evidence, according to a follow-up report published Tuesday by PunchUp, The Daily Beast's investigative Substack. The report describes the appointment as an "extraordinary" new position — all the more alarming given her recent conduct.

Earlier this month, The Daily Beast reported on court documents showing that Evans, who served as acting director of FEMA under since-fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, was caught "intentionally destroying" workplace correspondence she had previously been ordered to retain as evidence in a lawsuit dealing with President Donald Trump's efforts to gut the disaster response agency. The destroyed material included messages sent on Signal, the communications app that members of the administration have repeatedly been caught using for under-the-radar discussions. Some of the group chats in which messages were deleted included Noem and her top lieutenant, Corey Lewandowski.

The new reporting reveals that rather than being dismissed, Evans was moved into an eyebrow-raising role within the administration.

"After Donald Trump, 80, fired Noem in March, Evans was dumped as FEMA's acting administrator after less than six months in the role," The Daily Beast detailed. "But rather than following her boss out of the door, she was made the department's director of the Waste, Fraud and Abuse Task Force — three weeks before the court found her to have deleted evidence, PunchUp reports."

One anonymous department source, described in the report as "beleaguered," offered a blunt reaction to the news: "That sounds pretty appropriate for this admin."

"Evans's actions have brought grave consequences for the Trump administration," the report added. " ruling by [Judge Susan] Illston, a Clinton appointee, means the court will now assume the missing messages would have helped prove that DHS directed and carried out the plan to slash FEMA staffing." A finding of that kind carries real weight because it substitutes the court's assumption for the missing records — meaning the destroyed messages now count against DHS in the ongoing lawsuit over the agency's staffing rather than simply vanishing from the case.

According to the report, Evans returned to DHS 15 days before Judge Illston's ruling to begin her new role leading the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Brian Cavanaugh, DHS undersecretary for management, issued a statement on her appointment, praising her "extensive background in federal IT and cybersecurity leadership, along with her deep experience in public service."

But as PunchUp notes, Judge Illston's ruling raises questions about why Evans still runs a task force dedicated to rooting out fraud after the finding — and what Cavanaugh and the department knew when she was rehired. DHS was asked whether Evans has faced any disciplinary measures over the destruction of government records, and whether the department still considers her an appropriate official to lead its efforts to combat fraud. Declining to comment on whether Evans had faced sanctions, the department said it was grateful for her service and work at DHS. Whether the department ultimately answers those questions — and how the FEMA staffing lawsuit proceeds in light of the ruling — are the threads to watch next.