Donald Trump’s postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, is being accused of breaking campaign finance law, and North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein may launch an investigation into the claims, Raw Story reported.
“It is against the law to directly or indirectly reimburse someone for a political contribution. Any credible allegations of such actions merit investigation by the appropriate state and federal authorities. Beyond this, it would be inappropriate for me as Attorney General to comment on any specific matter at this time,” Stein tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
According to The Washington Post , DeJoy is accused of pressuring employees at his former company, New Breed Logistics, to donate to Republican candidates and reimbursing them afterward via bonuses. The allegations stem primarily from David Young, DeJoy’s longtime director of human resources, who says payroll records support his claims.
Other former staffers have also corroborated Young’s accusation.
“Two other employees familiar with New Breed’s financial and payroll systems said DeJoy would instruct that bonus payments to staffers be boosted to help defray the cost of their contributions, an arrangement that would be unlawful,” the report read.
Monty Hagler, a spokesman for DeJoy, claimed that DeJoy was unaware of the pressure workers felt to donate to Republican candidates. He also said that the GOP fundraiser regularly encouraged his staffers to participate in activities outside of politics, including churches, schools, and civic groups.
“Mr. DeJoy was never notified by the New Breed employees referenced by the Washington Post of any pressure they might have felt to make a political contribution, and he regrets if any employee felt uncomfortable for any reason.”
As noted by Slate , it’s not against the law to encourage workers to make political contributions. However, reimbursing such donations is illegal, which could land DeJoy in the ever-growing group of Trump allies that have found themselves in legal trouble.
DeJoy is known as a prolific Republican Party fundraiser, and contributions from his former company’s workers significantly dipped after he left the company.
In recent weeks, Trump and DeJoy have faced criticism for their purported attempts to undermine mail-in voting ahead of the November election. As The Inquisitr reported, the president has pushed back on these allegations and claimed that the American businessman is working to bolster the Postal Service, not undermine it.
De Joy is currently the focus of the U.S. Postal Service internal watchdog investigation into his adherence to federal ethics rules and the policy changes he has implemented at the agency.
