Thread by @arapaho415

@ZevShalev 1/ Just what every Postmaster General needs...a 24-carat gold staircase. Absolutely obscene. Think of slave-conditions required to mine, process, deliver that gold to Greensboro. #LetThemEatCake
Did Senate confirm DeJoy? Unable to verify yes or no. (more)

https://twitter.com/annalecta/status/917109190883184641

@ZevShalev 2/ Wikipedia:
"The postmaster general is now appointed by 9 'governors', appointed by the president w/the advice and consent of the Senate"
Senate approved all 6 USPSBOG members, most recent confirmations in Jun 2020.
footnote 3, p 73 of PDF: (more...)
about.usps.com/publications/p…

@ZevShalev 3/ #CommanderInCheat had opportunity to shape USPSBOG to his liking because as of Dec 2016, there were exactly zero board members. A single Senator held up confirmation hearings for President Obama's 5 nominees. (more) h/t @clearing_fog
Dec 20, 2016:
thehill.com/blogs/congress…

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog 4/ Jun 15, 2020:
"Schumer also sought a guarantee that DeJoy would resign as finance chair for the Republican National Convention and rid his extensive portfolio of any holding that conflicts with his new role." (more...)
washingtonpost.com/business/2020/…

https://twitter.com/MountainsStars/status/1295138170246332416

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog 5/ Jun 15, 2020:
[T]he Trump admin., led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, is attempting to pull the independent agency into its sphere of influence. Mnuchin has sought to leverage a $10 billion emergency loan to extract concessions... #WHextortion
washingtonpost.com/business/2020/…

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog 6/ ...from the Postal Service’s governing board, including the ability to approve the hiring of.. [Postmaster General] according to several people familiar w/negotiations. Board of governors vice chairman David Williams resigned over Mnuchin’s interference... (con't)

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog 7/ ...frustrated that board members had capitulated to Treasury’s loan conditions, according to 4 people familiar with Williams’s thinking who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they’re not permitted to discuss ongoing negotiations." (more...)

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog 8/ Pulling the strings for Mnuchin is USPSBOG chair, Robert M. "Mike" Duncan a staunch ally of Mitch McConnell and McConnell's former chief of staff, Steven Law.
After Senate confirmed him for 7-yr term in Dec 2019, he was still leading McConnell's Senate Leadership Fund SuperPAC

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog 9/ Mike Duncan is also Chairman of the Board of Directors for American Crossroads SuperPAC. Duncan has been Kentucky state GOP chair since 1992; his son (Robert M. Duncan Jr.) became EDKY US Attorney in Aug 2017.
Receipts downthread.

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog 10/ Duncan is thisclose to McConnell's former chief of staff Steven Law who is president of:
> American Crossroads SuperPAC
> Senate Leadership Fund SuperPAC*
> Dark money One Nation* [501(c)4] nonprofit
*combined, raised $190M this year
May 5, 2020:

https://twitter.com/clearing_fog/status/1294808217822797826

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog 11/ Two Palm Beach residents, Roman Martinez and William D Zollars sit on USPSBOG. As expected, another example of #WHextortion⤵️. (more...)
ttps://twitter.com/JaneMayerNYer/status/1294706066895319042

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog 12/ Article written after Senate confirmed Mike Duncan's 7-yr term on USPSBOG in Dec 2019.
Jan 20, 2020:
"Senate Leadership Fund [SuperPAC]...helmed by 👉Mike Duncan👈...former RNC chairman & a Kentuckian, & Steven Law, McConnell's former chief of staff."
cnn.com/2020/01/20/pol…

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog 13/ No source provided, but Wikipedia claims:
"American Crossroads is a Super PAC" whose "Chairman of the Board of Directors is former RNC chairman [and current USPSBOG chair😠] 👉Mike Duncan👈.*" (more)
*Could source be Boss Rove by @craigunger?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_…

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger 14/ "Robert M. 'Mike' Duncan was first elected to serve as the national committeeman of the Republican Party of Kentucky in 1992 and was re-elected to a four-year term in 2016." (more)
ballotpedia.org/Robert_M._Dunc…

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger 15/ GOP conveniently omits Duncan's leadership roles at American Crossroads SuperPAC and Senate Leadership Committee SuperPAC🙄. (more)
gop.com/leaders/nation…

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger 16/ Aug 3, 2017: #QuidProQuo
"Trump also nominated Robert M. Duncan Jr. of Lexington to be the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Duncan is the 👉son of Mike Duncan👈, an Inez banker and longtime Republican Party fundraiser... (con't)
kentucky.com/news/state/art…

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger 17/ ...who served from 2007 to 2009 as chairman of the RNC. The younger Duncan has worked as an assistant US attorney in Lexington since 2005."
Not sure how much deeper we can investigate One Nation 501(c)4, a major source of funding for McConnell's Senate Leadership Fund. (more)

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger 18/ SLF Reminder.
Aug 3, 2017:
"During the 2015-2016 election season, Ukrainian🇺🇦-born billionaire Leonard 'Len' Blavatnik contributed $6.35 million to leading Republican candidates and incumbent senators. Mitch McConnell was the top recipient... (con't)
dallasnews.com/opinion/commen…

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger 19/ ...of Blavatnik's donations, collecting $2.5 million for his GOP 👉Senate Leadership Fund👈 under the names of two of Blavatnik's holding companies, Access Industries and AI Altep Holdings, according to Federal Election Commission documents and OpenSecrets [dot] org." /end

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger 20/ Update. Fingerprints of villain Mnuchin on premeditated USPS destruction.
Aug 6, 2020, updated Aug 10:
Thread⤵️: "A loan agreement negotiated w/Mnuchin gives Treasury access to USPS 10 biggest contracts -- think Amazon --" (more...)

https://twitter.com/jeremyherb/status/1291441497200644098

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger 21/ "A key issue is the terms of a $10 billion loan to the Postal Service from the Treasury Dept that was authorized in the CARES Act. The legislation allowed Mnuchin, who led a task force on reforming the Postal Service in 2018, to negotiate the terms of the agreement (con't)

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger 22/ ...which was announced last week [last week of July?]."
"House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney and other Democrats charged the loan terms would 'inappropriately insert the Treasury into the internal operations of the Postal Service using onerous loan conditions.'" (more...)

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger 23/ "On Dec 10, 2019, Mnuchin met with the 👉Chairman and CEO of UPS, David Abney👈, who also happens to be a major Trump donor. Less than two weeks later on Dec 23, Mnuchin wrote the USPS Board of Governors... (con't)
h/t @metaquest
Aug 19, 2020:

https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/status/1296205697835827208

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger @metaquest 24/ ...asking to be 'kept apprised of the progress' on the search for a new Postmaster General. On March 31, Robert Duncan, the chairman of the USPS Board of Governors (who runs a pro-Trump super PAC) replied to Mnuchin saying that the board met him on Feb 6 about the search...

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger @metaquest 25/ ...and confirmed that they were hiring a firm to evaluate postal service pricing."
"DeJoy’s [appointed Postmaster General on May 6, began Jun 15] actions could also set up a windfall for FedEx and UPS, which have close financial ties to USPS, but are also its competitors...

@ZevShalev @clearing_fog @craigunger @metaquest 26/ ...DeJoy has publicly remarked that 'there are competitive alternatives to every product that we offer,' and that USPS will need to 'keep pace.'”
Stay tuned as we learn more about the deeply corrupt USPS Board of Governors and lead villain Steve Mnuchin. /end