Donald Trump has never been a fan of inspector generals unless they say what he wants them to say. After his recent attempts to hobble the United States Postal Service in order to thwart increased mail-in voting during a global pandemic, it’s unlikely that the postal service watchdog will say what Trump wants them to say.
Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) made a criminal referral to the New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, asking him to investigate recent reports regarding Trump’s attempts to prevent universal mail-in voting, a measure Democrats have fought for during the coronavirus outbreaks. Reports have stated that Trump appointed a postmaster general with financial ties to a USPS competitor who has implemented policies making it impossible for postal workers to do their jobs efficiently, that mail sorting machines are being removed from post offices, and that drop boxes are being removed.
The Daily Beast reports that:
‘Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) made a criminal referral to the New Jersey Attorney General on Friday night, asking him to impanel a grand jury to look at possible breach of state election laws by President Trump, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and others for “their accelerating arson of the post office,” he said.’
We’ve filed two complaints with the USPS Inspector General, in May and this week calling for wide-ranging probes of trump and dejoy’s destruction of the post office. https://t.co/NAnpBOuTfm pic.twitter.com/wnM8blhp2i
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) August 14, 2020
In an email with CNN, the internal watchdog of the postal service confirmed that an investigation is being opened into these matters. Postmaster General Louis Dejoy’s conflicts of interest and policy changes will be under review.
‘The internal watchdog at the United States Postal Service is reviewing controversial policy changes recently imposed under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, and is also examining DeJoy’s compliance with federal ethics rules, according to a spokeswoman for the USPS inspector general and an aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who requested the review…
Agapi Doulaveris, a spokeswoman for the USPS watchdog, told CNN in an email, “We have initiated a body of work to address the concerns raised, but cannot comment on the details.”‘
UPDATE: Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. made a criminal referral to the NJ Attorney General, asking him to impanel a grand jury to look at possible breach of state election laws by President Trump, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and others https://t.co/FcB5k71hdX
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) August 14, 2020
Dejoy’s handling of the postal service’s finances will likely also be under review, and policies around how the post office is currently funded should be. The post office is reporting that they may not be able to meet payroll as early as the first part of 2021.
‘Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and other Democratic lawmakers requested a review into DeJoy’s actions, like eliminating overtime and slowing certain types of mail delivery, and whether he “met all ethics requirements.”’
The internal watchdog at the United States Postal Service is reviewing controversial policy changes recently imposed under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, and is also examining DeJoy's compliance with federal ethics rules. https://t.co/o3BBKOjQ8d
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 14, 2020
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
Tonight I’ve made a criminal referral to the New Jersey Attorney General asking him to empanel a grand jury to look at subversion of NJ election laws by donald trump, louis dejoy, and other trump officials in their accelerating arson of the post office. pic.twitter.com/mxqbV8EmVn
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) August 14, 2020
