A federal judge ruled last night that the US Postal Service must give the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington documents about potential conflicts of interest by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
“DeJoy’s publicly available financial disclosures made at the time of his appointment show that he owned stock in USPS contractor XPO Logistics valued between $30 and $75 million,” wrote Senior Judge John D. Bates of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, in his 20-page opinion.
Over the past seven years, the USPS has reportedly paid about $286 million to XPO Logistics, DeJoy’s ex-employer, and has “ramped up its business” with the company since DeJoy’s appointment as Postmaster General.
After his appointment, DeJoy continued to hold financial interests in XPO totaling between $30 and $75 million. DeJoy also held a significant amount of stock in Amazon, a major USPS competitor.
Following the USPS’s failure to turn over documents relating to DeJoy’s potential conflicts of interest in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, CREW sued the agency.
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates granted CREW summary judgment in full and “order[ed] USPS to produce the recusal documents as well as any non-exempt portions of the certificate of divestiture documents in a timely manner.”
The judge cited a “strong public interest” in information relating to DeJoy’s potential conflicts, which have been the focus of intense scrutiny by Congress and the press.
“This is a big win not just for CREW, but for transparency advocates everywhere,” CREW Communications Director Jordan Libowitz said. “DeJoy’s decision making as postmaster general has raised some serious ethical questions–now we should finally get some answers.”
“DeJoy tried to weaponize the Postal Service to help former President Donald Trump try to steal the election and he’s currently under investigation by the FBI for pressuring his employees to contribute to Republican political candidates,” said New Jersey activist Lisa McCormick. “Now, he’s using the Postal Service to enrich his family, XPO Logistics, and his own bank account.”
“DeJoy’s repeated, egregious financial conflicts of interest prove that he’s out for himself, not strengthening the Postal Service — a public good that serves millions of Americans every single day,” said Senator Cory Booker.
According to the Postmaster General’s financial disclosure statements and a federal contracting database, the U.S. Postal Service will pay $120 million over the next five years to the logistics contractor with which DeJoy’s family still maintains financial ties.
The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the new contract will deepen the Postal Service’s relationship with XPO Logistics, where DeJoy served as supply chain chief executive from 2014 to 2015 after the company purchased New Breed Logistics, the trucking firm he owned for more than 30 years.
Since he became postmaster general, DeJoy, DeJoy-controlled companies and his family foundation have divested between $65.4 million and $155.3 million worth of XPO shares, according to financial disclosures, foundation tax documents and securities filings.
But DeJoy’s family businesses continue to lease four North Carolina office buildings to XPO, according to his financial disclosures and state property records.
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