(Headline USA) The House Oversight Committee intends to subpoena Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for documents about disruptions in mail delivery operations.
While pushing a mail-in-voting scam claiming that polling places, unlike race riots, are far too dangerous for the common citizen, Democrats are now advancing a conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump is actively attempting to interfere with mail delivery and stealing mailboxes.
After they repeatedly stressed those claims at the Democratic National Convention two weeks ago, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc. called an earlier hearing with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to clarify some of the false claims.
But Democrats in the House are responding by doubling down on the lie, continuing to raise questions over the postal service’s ability to handle an onslaught of mail-in ballots expected for the November election.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the committee chair, sent a memo Monday saying DeJoy blew past last week’s deadline to fully respond to the committee’s request for more information. He has not provided any new materials, she said.
“It is clear that a subpoena has become necessary to further the Committee’s investigation and help inform potential legislative actions,” she said.
DeJoy, who was tapped to lead the agency in June, started quickly initiating changes at a time when the agency was already straining under the COVID-19 crisis. Reports of delays soon piled up.
The committee produced internal postal service data showing widespread summer service disruptions.
DeJoy, who already testified before the House panel earlier this month, reiterated in a letter last Friday that the changes he was initiating are now being suspended “until after the election is concluded.”
The committee is seeking documents about the changes, including the removal of sorting equipment and changes to overtime rules, which could be impeding mail delivery.
The panel also wants information about how DeJoy, who had no previous postal experience, was selected for the job, as well as any previously “undisclosed communication between Mr. DeJoy and the Trump campaign.”
DeJoy in his Friday letter to the panel said the postal leadership team has expanded an Election Mail task force to work with local election officials in support of the November election to ensure ballots are delivered “securely and on time.”
DeJoy also said his staff was working with the committee to provide the materials being requested.
Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the panel’s Government Operations Subcommittee, said, “Mr. DeJoy’s testimony before our committee has left us with more questions than answers.”
Connolly said: “Congress must assert itself. The public demands it. Today’s action is a necessary step in our efforts to hold the Trump administration accountable for its deliberate sabotage of the Postal Service, and to restore confidence in this revered American institution.”
But the top Republican on the Oversight panel, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, called the decision to subpoena DeJoy part of a pattern by Democrats “to promote a baseless conspiracy theory about the Postal Service.”
Comer called the subpoena “overly broad” and said Democrats should work with the Postal Service and Republicans “to address their concerns.”
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
