[blind-democracy] FW: 'Friday Night Massacre' at US Postal Service as Postmaster General—a Major Trump Donor—Ousts Top Officials

From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2020 14:33:20 -0400

From: Common Dreams <commondreams@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, August 8, 2020 10:07 AM
To: Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: 'Friday Night Massacre' at US Postal Service as Postmaster General—a
Major Trump Donor—Ousts Top Officials

"Trump is actively sabotaging the election under our noses—this isn't
theoretical, it's happening RIGHT NOW."

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'Friday Night Massacre' at US Postal Service as Postmaster General—a Major
Trump Donor—Ousts Top Officials

America is in a dead sprint to authoritarianism. The man is pulling out all the
stops to prevent the citizens of this country from holding a legitimate
election in which he might face removal from office."

by Jon Queally, staff writer

Government watchdogs, Democratic lawmakers, and pro-democracy advocates
declared it a "
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Friday Night Massacre" for the U.S. Postal Service after news broke in a
classic end-of-the-week dump that Louis DeJoy—a major GOP donor to President
Donald Trump and the recently appointed Postmaster General—had issued a
sweeping overhaul of the agency, including the ouster of top executives from
key posts and the reshuffling of more than two dozen other officials and
operational managers.

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According to the Washington Post:

The shake-up came as congressional Democrats called for an investigation of
DeJoy and the cost-cutting measures that have slowed mail delivery and ensnared
ballots in recent primary elections.

Twenty-three postal executives were reassigned or displaced, the new
organizational chart shows. Analysts say the structure centralizes power around
DeJoy, a former logistics executive and major ally of President Trump, and
de-emphasizes decades of institutional postal knowledge. All told, 33 staffers
included in the old postal hierarchy either kept their jobs or were reassigned
in the restructuring, with five more staffers joining the leadership from other
roles.

Already
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under fire for recent policy changes at the USPS that
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mail carriers from within and
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outside critics have denounced as a sabotage effort to undermine the Postal
Service broadly as well as disrupt efforts to carry out mail-in voting for
November's election amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the moves unveiled late Friday
were viewed as an overt assault on democracy and a calculated opportunity to
boost Republicans' long-held dream of undercutting or privatizing the
government-run mail service while also boosting their election prospects in the
process.

"Another Friday night massacre by this administration—and this time dealing
another devastating blow to our postal service,"
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said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) "The American people deserve answers and
we're going to keep fighting for them."

"Trump is actively sabotaging the election under our noses—this isn't
theoretical, it's happening RIGHT NOW."
—Brian Tyler Cohen, political commentator

Scanlon was among more than 80 congressional lawmakers who
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sent a letter to DeJoy earlier in the day expressing "deep concerns" about
operational changes he has made for mail carriers that have delayed deliveries
and lowered standards.

"It is vital that the U.S. Postal Service not reduce mail delivery times, which
could harm rural communities, seniors, small businesses, and millions of
Americans who rely on the mail for critical letters and packages," the letter
stated. "Eliminating overtime and directing postal workers to leave mail on the
floor of postal facilities will erode confidence in the Postal Service and
drive customers away, resulting in even worse financial conditions in the
future."

Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for
Civil Rights Under Law, warned what occurred Friday is designed to weak the
Postal Service, slow vote-by-mail, and disrupt the 2020 Census.

"We are sounding an alarm regarding personnel changes, policy shifts and
service disruptions happening inside the U.S. Postal Service on Louis DeJoy's
watch," Clarke said in a statement. "The postal service lies at the heart of
our democracy and is critical to the success of an unprecedented vote-by-mail
system that is needed for a fair and effective 2020 election season. The postal
service helps ensure that our nation's most vulnerable communities are
receiving medications and resources during the pandemic. It is also critical to
the efforts to achieve a full and accurate 2020 Census."

Clarke said the administration's intentions are clear: "DeJoy, a Trump donor
with no experience inside the postal service, has been installed to cause chaos
and disruption at a time when the timely delivery of mail could not be more
critical."

As Common Dreams
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reported earlier Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren was among those who signed the
letter and also called for DeJoy's efforts to be investigated by the Inspector
General of the USPS. Since 2016 alone, DeJoy has
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donated more than $2.5 million to the Republican Party and candidates. In
2020, prior to his appointment as Postmaster General by the GOP-controlled
board of governors, DeJoy had already given
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approximately $360,000 to a Super PAC supporting Trump's reelection.

"DeJoy, a Trump donor with no experience inside the postal service, has been
installed to cause chaos and disruption at a time when the timely delivery of
mail could not be more critical."
—Kristen Clarke, Lawyers' Committee

As the Post notes in its reporting, the reshuffling of top managers and
executives—as well as a hiring freeze and push for early retirements—"worried
postal analysts, who say the tone of DeJoy's first eight weeks and his
restructuring have recast the nation's mail service as a for-profit arm of the
government, rather than an essential service."

In a
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video posted to Twitter, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oreg.) characterized DeJoy as a
"political crony" of the president's and also denounced the brazen efforts now
on display as a "Friday Night Massacre" scenario

Appearing Friday afternoon on Capitol Hill, DeJoy brushed off accusations that
he is acting as a political bag man for Trump. "While I certainly have a good
relationship with the president of the United States, the notion that I would
ever make decisions concerning the Postal Service at the direction of the
president or anyone else in the administration is wholly off-base," DeJoy
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said.

But outside critics like Walter Shaub, former head of the Office of Government
Ethics and a fierce critic of Trump's behavior as president, said the latest
move should be seen as nothing less than a direct effort by DeJoy to exploit
his authority at the Postal Service to further the president's political
interests and reelection prospects

According to Brian Tyler Cohen, a liberal commentator and podcast host,
"Congressional Democrats need to do something about this" immediately.

"If we wait until October/November, it'll be too late,"
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said Cohen. "Trump is actively sabotaging the election under our noses—this
isn't theoretical, it's happening RIGHT NOW." Cohen said this situation should
be treated like a "five-alarm fire" and said action must be taken by both
lawmakers and the U.S. public without delay

Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), chair of the House subcommittee which has
oversight for the USPS, said what DeJoy is trying to pass off as simple
organizational restructuring is actually "a Trojan Horse" designed to destroy
one of the nation's most trusted and valued institutions from within.

Connolly on Friday night
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called it, "Deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service on the eve of the
election—an election that hinges on mail-in ballots."

# # #

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[blind-democracy] FW: 'Friday Night Massacre' at US Postal Service as Postmaster General—a Major Trump Donor—Ousts Top Officials

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