The FBI has reportedly launched an investigation into whether Postmaster General Louis DeJoy violated federal campaign finance laws during his tenure as the top executive at New Breed Logistics.
News of the probe, first reported Thursday by the Washington Post, prompted fresh calls for DeJoy's immediate termination as head of the U.S. Postal Service, which has seen dramatic performance declines since DeJoy took over the agency last June. Only the USPS Board of Governors--which appointed DeJoy last May--has the authority to remove the postmaster general.
"DeJoy is corrupt to the core," said Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.). "He should be fired now."
According to the Post, "FBI agents in recent weeks interviewed current and former employees of DeJoy and the business, asking questions about political contributions and company activities."
"Prosecutors also issued a subpoena to DeJoy himself for information," the Post reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the ongoing probe.
In a statement to the Post, DeJoy spokesperson Mark Corallo confirmed the postmaster general is under investigation but insisted that DeJoy "has always been scrupulous in his adherence to the campaign contribution laws and has never knowingly violated them."
The FBI investigation follows bombshell reporting by the Post last year detailing DeJoy's alleged involvement in a straw-donor scheme under which New Breed Logistics employees were reimbursed for making political donations.
"Louis was a national fundraiser for the Republican Party. He asked employees for money. We gave him the money, and then he reciprocated by giving us big bonuses," David Young, who served as human resources director at New Breed Logistics, told the Post in September. "When we got our bonuses, let's just say they were bigger, they exceeded expectations--and that covered the tax and everything else."
