FBI investigating political fundraising of former employees of Postmaster General DeJoy

The FBI is investigating political contributions made by former employees of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at a previous business, a spokesman said Thursday.

Mark Corallo, a spokesman for DeJoy, confirmed the existence of the investigation in a statement to The Hill but stressed that the postmaster general did not knowingly violate any laws.

“Mr. DeJoy has learned that the Department of Justice is investigating campaign contributions made by employees who worked for him when he was in the private sector,” Corallo said. “He has always been scrupulous in his adherence to the campaign contribution laws and has never knowingly violated them.”

He said DeJoy “fully cooperated with and answered the questions posed by Congress regarding these matters.”

“The same is true of the Postal Service Inspector General’s inquiry which after a thorough investigation gave Mr. DeJoy a clean bill of health on his disclosure and divestment issues. He expects nothing less in this latest matter and he intends to work with DOJ toward swiftly resolving it,” Corallo added.

FBI agents have reportedly begun interviewing current and former employees of DeJoy and his previous business, inquiring about political contributions and company activities, according to The Washington Post, which first reported on the inquiry on Thursday.

Additionally, a source told the newspaper that DeJoy has been issued a subpoena for information.

In September, the Post also first reported on allegations made by employees at DeJoy’s former company, the North Carolina-based New Breed Logistics. The workers claimed that they were pressured by DeJoy or his aides to attend political fundraisers or donate to Republican candidates and were then paid back in bonuses.

A spokesman for DeJoy told the newspaper at the time that the CEO was not aware of any employees feeling pressured to contribute money.

According to one employee who spoke to the Post, DeJoy would ask workers to contribute money, then he “reciprocated by giving us big bonuses,” which “were bigger” and “exceeded expectations.”

Those reimbursements, the Post noted, could be in violation of state or federal laws, which ban “straw-donor” schemes that are performed to help wealthy donors dodge individual contribution caps and conceal the source of a candidate’s money.

The FBI would not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. The Hill reached out to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for comment.

DeJoy, who heads the U.S. Postal Service, was appointed by the Governors of the Postal Service in May and started in that role the following month. His tenure, however, has been mired in controversy.

In the top post, DeJoy imposed a slew of cost-cutting measures, which led to declines in mail processing and slow downs in delivery.

Democrats have accused DeJoy of deliberately slowing the mail ahead of the 2020 presidential election to give Trump, who he has donated to, an advantage in the race.

According to the Post, DeJoy personally contributed more than $1.1 million to the joint fundraising vehicle of Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican Party.

DeJoy, however, denied the allegations at a congressional hearing last year, saying he was “not engaged in sabotaging the election,” according to the Post.

Updated at 4:16 p.m.