The Trump administration has been hit with a lawsuit demanding documents related to the appointment of the Trump-allied Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General. Specifically, the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has sued the Treasury Department over failing to adequately comply with their previous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that was seeking some of those documents. The documents in question are those outlining the role that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin played in the placement of DeJoy at the Postal Service. As CREW summarizes, a recent Washington Post report reveals that Mnuchin “recruited” DeJoy for the job, which suggests close political coordination between the White House and DeJoy.
We’re suing the Treasury Department for documents on Mnuchin’s role in selecting Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General. https://t.co/vllhaKpVEy
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) August 22, 2020
CREW states:
‘CREW is suing the Treasury Department for failing to turn over comprehensive documents on Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and his department’s involvement in the selection of Trump donor Louis DeJoy to lead the U.S. Postal Service. According to the Washington Post, after Postmaster General and former letter carrier Megan Brennan announced her plans to retire from the USPS in October 2019, Mnuchin recruited DeJoy to succeed her. The selection of a Trump ally and donor to lead the USPS has raised concerns about potential political interference at the agency. DeJoy is also the first Postmaster General in decades who did not come through the agency’s ranks.’
The organization adds that up to this point, they’ve only received a meager three pages of information related to the topic at hand following their earlier FOIA request. DeJoy has recently been facing steep scrutiny for the policy and operations changes that he has implemented that have had the net effect of slowing down mail service with just a short time to go until the general election, when many mail-in ballots are expected to be used. CREW notes that this crisis “heightens the urgency for documents about DeJoy to be publicly released.”
Il Duce of the Post Office…Making the trucks run on time…even though they don't carry the mail. https://t.co/ImsaVhgkV9
— Jeffrey St. Clair (@JSCCounterPunch) August 21, 2020
DeJoy recently testified before the GOP-controlled Senate Homeland Security Committee, and he’s set to soon testify before the Democrat-led House Oversight Committee. In the Senate, he did not have comprehensive answers for the issues at hand. He noted, for instance, that some mail delivery has been slowed because he demanded trucks to leave on time, as scheduled — but what’s the point of the trucks leaving on time if all of the mail isn’t even onboard?
This is silly and/or disingenuous. What good is the on-time departure of a mail truck IF IT'S NOT CARRYING THE MAIL? https://t.co/9rCSpeXS0I
— Jon Fasman (@jonfasman) August 21, 2020
