Washington, D.C. (Aug. 31, 2020)—Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, sent a memorandum notifying all Committee Members of her intent to issue a subpoena to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for documents he has been withholding from Congress.
Over the past two months, hundreds of Members of Congress have requested information and documents from DeJoy regarding widespread delays in mail, medications, and other critical supplies, potential delays for election mail in November, previously undisclosed communications between DeJoy and the Trump campaign, anomalies in the process used to select DeJoy, and other matters. Although DeJoy and his aides initially downplayed the extent and gravity of these delays, headlines from states across the nation—and internal Postal Service documents obtained by the Committee—have made clear that these delays are far worse than previously disclosed.
During last week’s hearing, Chairwoman Maloney requested documents by Wednesday, August 26, and warned that she would issue a subpoena if no documents were produced. On Friday night—two days after this deadline—DeJoy sent a letter to the Committee stating: “I trust my August 24 testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Reform clarified any outstanding questions you had.” DeJoy has not produced a single additional document since the House and Senate hearings were held.
“This subpoena includes in one place many requests previously made by Members of the House and Senate in writing and directly to Mr. DeJoy during his in-person testimony,” Chairwoman Maloney wrote. “The subpoena clarifies a number of previous requests based on information obtained to date in order to ensure that it captures all documents within the requested categories, and it also makes clear as a legal matter that the production of these documents is mandatory.”
Chairwoman Maloney also sent a document request to Robert M. Duncan, the Chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors, who testified before the Committee last week with DeJoy. The Board of Governors had been withholding documents and information from other Members of Congress by citing a Justice Department opinion claiming that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) prohibits the disclosure of information to a Member of Congress who is not the Chair of a Committee—a baseless claim that has been thoroughly debunked by Democrats and Republicans alike.
“In light of your refusal to produce documents in response to other Members of Congress, I am now writing in my capacity as Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform to make a number of requests for documents and information,” Chairwoman Maloney wrote. “I am also requesting, on behalf of the Committee, additional documents sought during your recent testimony before the Committee on August 24, 2020, and by Members of our Committee and others. If there are any questions about whether you are legally authorized to produce these documents, please let the Committee know, and we will issue a subpoena to resolve these doubts and compel their production.”
Click here to read the memo on the subpoena to Postmaster General DeJoy.
Click here to read the document request to Board of Governors Chairman Duncan.