Allegations regarding U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s political donations while CEO of New Breed Logistics, a North Carolina-based firm, came out last year. Months later, it seems as the U.S. Department of Justice may have enough evidence to conduct an investigation.
What We Know:
- DeJoy was selected by former President Donald Trump to become head of the U.S. Postal Service in May 2020. Before that, he worked in the private sector for over three decades and was considered a “Republican megadonor,” even donating to Trump’s presidential campaign.
- Last September, The Washington Post broke the story of how former employees of DeJoy felt pressured to donate to Republican candidates. In turn, DeJoy would compensate them with lavish gifts and bonuses. DeJoy has stated that he was unaware that his former employees felt pressured to contribute to various GOP candidates and “believes that he has always followed campaign fundraising laws and regulations.”
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stern stated, “it is against the law to directly or indirectly reimburse someone for a political contribution” and that “any credible allegations of such actions merit investigation by the appropriate state and federal authorities.”
- Before the Nov. 3rd presidential election, DeJoy was called to testify in front of the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform regarding allegations of sabotaging the 2020 election by cutting cost and slowing down the processing of mail-in ballots. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi felt this move by DeJoy would, in turn, benefit Trump during the election, stating, “the President has explicitly stated his intention to manipulate the Postal Service to deny eligible voters access to the ballot in pursuit of his own re-election.”
- During his congressional hearing last year, Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) asked DeJoy, “did you pay back several of your top executives for contributing to Trump’s campaign by bonusing or rewarding them?” To which DeJoy replied, “That’s an outrageous claim, sir, and I resent it…the answer is no.”
- Mark Corallo, a spokesman for DeJoy, has stated, “fully cooperated with and answered questions posed by Congress regarding these matters…the same is true of the Postal Service Inspector General’s inquiry which after a thorough investigation gave Mr. DeJoy a clean bill of health on his disclosure and divestment issues. He expects nothing less in this latest matter, and he intends to work with DOJ toward swiftly resolving it.”
Despite the allegations, DeJoy doesn’t plan on stepping down from Postmaster General anytime soon. When asked how long he plans on staying in the role during the congressional hearings, he responded with, “a long time…get used to me.” DeJoy has since released his 10-year plan for the U.S. Postal Service.
