The House Oversight Committee is preparing to issue a subpoena for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, accusing him of ignoring the panel’s demand for documents related to Postal Service mail delays and contacts with White House officials or the Trump campaign.
Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) indicated Monday that DeJoy had refused to comply with a request for documents she issued during his testimony to the committee last week, when she first made her subpoena threat.
The panel is seeking details on changes to USPS overtime policy, sorting machines and general delays in mail service, which they warn will undermine mail-in voting across the country. President Donald Trump has long railed against the Postal Service and mail-in voting, though DeJoy has rejected charges he’s acting at Trump’s behest.
“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,” Maloney said.
The committee is also issuing a document request to USPS board chairman Robert Duncan about materials it says Duncan is withholding by citing a Justice Department legal opinion. Maloney intends to issue a subpoena for those documents as well if Duncan doesn’t comply, according to committee aides.
“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,” she said.
Maloney’s intent to issue a subpoena for documents from DeJoy follows an Aug. 28 letter from the postmaster general in which he said his public testimony should have resolved any remaining questions from the committee. Democrats sparred repeatedly with DeJoy at last week’s hearing, and Maloney made clear she was not satisfied with his responses.
If the panel doesn’t receive the documents sought by lawmakers, she warned, “you can expect a subpoena.”