Opinion and Order: American Oversight v. USPS - DeJoy Calendars
Sep 23, 2021
American Oversight Sues USPS for Postmaster General DeJoy’s Calendars
The public is entitled to see how DeJoy is spending his time and who has been influencing his decisions.
American Oversight today sued the United States Postal Service on Tuesday to compel the release of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s calendar. In August, USPS claimed that DeJoy’s calendar, which is kept on a government computer and accessed by agency staff, is a personal record not subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act.
The calendars of senior government officials are routinely released to the public in response to FOIA requests, and American Oversight has previously obtained and published calendars for dozens of top Trump administration appointees.
Recent cost-cutting initiatives that DeJoy implemented caused widespread mail delays and national outrage. The moves also raised concerns about the ability of USPS to facilitate the upcoming November presidential election in which record numbers of Americans are expected to vote by mail. Before he was appointed to USPS in May 2020, DeJoy was a fundraiser for Trump and a shipping industry executive with significant investments in companies that do business with or compete with the post office.
American Oversight is investigating how the pandemic has impacted USPS, and whether and to what extent the White House is interfering in the agency’s operations or undermining trust in absentee voting — either on behalf of private industry or to benefit the president’s reelection chances. More information on this investigation is available here.
DeJoy’s refusal to release his calendar has also sparked questions from Congress. In a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing in August, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reminded DeJoy that his calendars are public records and recommended that lawmakers consider a subpoena for the documents — the committee later did issue such a subpoena.
“Who has Postmaster General DeJoy been meeting with and why is he trying so hard to keep it a secret?” said Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight. “DeJoy is supervising the delivery of everything from mail-in ballots to medications right now, and the public is entitled to see how he’s spending his time and who has been influencing his decisions.”
Today’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is available here.
