Hey folks yesterday, following public outcry, around proposed cuts to the? U S, postal service months before the November elections, Postman General Louis to Joy, testified before the House Oversight Committee and sparks flew. Meanwhile, Steve Bannon form from campaign chief in white, how strategist is speaking against his indictment on allegations of fraud by the question. Why calling it a quote political hijab, end quote and John Or in the Connecticut? U S attorney tasked with to getting the origins of the FBI's Russia Probe Passive, cured his first conviction and an eye Gus, all this and more on a cat. insider podcast today sharing a clip from the episode with listeners of stay tuned, to hear our full conversation and access all other Cathy inside it ten, including the newly launched United Security in cyberspace forecasts, try the membership free for two weeks. You can do that They D come slash insider. That's cafe, dot com, slash insider cod.

with a valid eda. You email qualify for a discount, had the cafe dot com, slashed student, sign up at a lower rate. Again, that's cafe. Dot com, slash student- we look forward to having you as a part of the insider community? So last week we spent most, if not all, of our time talking about the use postal service and the postmaster general about whom much has been said. Louis to joy, appeared to things. Last Friday he appeared in the Senate and yesterday Monday August, twenty fourth, he appeared before the House Oversight Committee said we did. We learn a lot from Mr De Joy and well. We did. We did not learn that much aside from learning that he actually doesn't know nearly as much about the agency. He runs as you would expect an that's, let's break that out in a minute, but remember that

FR. We taped on Tuesday the postmaster General made a statement saying I'm going to delay the changes he didn't say he was gonna undo the changes he had made since he came into office in June, but it basically said I'm gonna hit pause you might have talked about that a little bit- and you know I do Know- is that I had to because it kind of one similar. We talked about I recorded that's right, lamer. While I had no power power, one out of my house, right that's right, and so so we then came two Fridays hearings with the Senate. Basically, with this idea of ok to joy, is going to explain what happened on what has happened, that the things it

think are worth noting our number one that even though he's committed you know, he said he's committed to prioritizing ballots, but he wasn't willing to go back and undo the work that has been done, that that has been done to things like taking sorting machines out of commission. He did stop them from taking away other mailboxes, but he did not commit putting them back in the place where they were before And- and one also has come out, is there there really have. If you, if you just look at the numbers, the male delay really does correlate almost exactly with his starting in office, and so what troubled me about the hearings in particular, yesterday's hearings, is that he said I dont like he basically blamed other people for all of it and said you know stopping overtime as in the works for a long time. I I didn't do it. He was asked by Representative Katy Porter who did it, and he said I don't know I mean it

sort of it. It just belies like credibility for him to be up. There is the head of the agency. He said a couple of positive things, how much to credit him, but he did Sir supports mail in voting. He also did say quote as we heard until the election season. I want to assure this committee and the american public that the postal services fully capable committed to delivering the nations election male securely and on time, so that before the Senate, there's a big difference between words and deeds, though yes, but one other thing he did ass. He said I think, wasn't Orton. Is that as a rule and again it's like you know, you don't get points for doing the right thing, but but it still, it still welcome news. For years the postal service has treated ballots, absentee about whether there being now or being sent in as first class mail, even if someone has it paid,

for that level of service that level speed. And then this year they said for the first time that they were not going to do that that if you bought sort of bulk male rate to bail out and absentee ballot, a melon vote voter ballot that they would not treat that as first class, which had been the practice. So he also reversed on that and said that anything election related they'll treat as first class mail, which we should mean that it gets delivered more quickly. So that was also positive. Again he's the one that made that change to sort of put that in jeopardy. So I dont know how many points we should be giving him for going back to what was the status quo. But it still important to note that there has been a lot of public pressure. People of the post office. People need to get male medication, and this was a victory in some sense that it did appear at least to me. I don't know what you thought it did appear to me that, like the scrutiny has

has made a difference and he's he's stepping back from some of the more more drastic changes. The problem still to me, though pre is like he basically said Like- will authorize overtime as necessary, who gets to decide what is necessary and through just so many pieces that failed to me like, you know. I worry that he does. He said what you needed to say: the sort of save himself and some of the rhetoric was good, but the proof of the pudding as they say, and looking out on sort of concrete measures. He flatly refused to do certain things like democratic representative, Stephen Lynch simply replaced the six hundred some odd, sorting machines that had been removed slightly? Nor will not now please come back and I don't quite understand why not if their capable of handling huge amounts of of male an efficient way. Another thing that was travelling to me is that, when represented Cape,

and in a week we talked about it. She said she was coming prepared and she she definite did come prepared. She asked him in a committee vote by male ballots. Were there in the last election disorient Wee Wee Wee previewed what we thought would be the case when Katy Porter came to ask me questions as that she said she came prepared and afterwards she tweeted spoiler de joy did not, and I think we should actually showcase some of the back and forth between Porter into joy. You want to play the part. representative K Porter. I would prefer that part. Yes, if I guess it's yes, you know that we do this. I want to play the good ok war, swap what is the cost of a first class postage stamp five cents. What about to mail a postcard? I don't know.

what, if Want to male one of those greeting card, that's a square, humble hope. I'll submit that I know very little about a postage stamp. Do you know about with a million or so. Can you tell me how many people voted by mail in the last presidential election, no to the nearest ten million. I would be guessing and I dont want to guess. ok, so, Mr De Joy, I am concerned, I am glad you know the price of a stamp I am concerned about your understanding of this agency. Could you please tell me who do order. These changes, if you as postmaster General, did not if you

that order these actions to be taken? Please tell the committee, the name of who did. I do not know that about summarizes case closely closed, that about summarizes. You know how it works, and I think the issue or to me: is it just first of all, it's incredible me that you a check for hearing like this and not be prepared on all of those things, but put all that aside. Just for I care about. You know terrible government service where the people should demand and expect a higher level of of knowledge. The problem is that you know if he'd come in and just started running an agency in even it you know in June and watches look. I don't know all these things. If he hadn't made changes, we would give him the benefit of the doubt right. We would basically say: okay, we, you dont, know those things. Could you just started, but the fact is he's come ethically shifted the organization

in serious ways that have led to a spike in male delays and for him not able to then answer those questions? It's like what did you the changes you made on. If you don't know anything about the agency that you run, we should talk about strategy for a minute, cuz, we're both lawyers and spend time in the courtroom, and we think both of us, the Katie Porter, is very effective. Part of the defective is that suppose the ignorance on the part of the joy and I've been wondering and everyone asking the question. What is to join, she didn't know the prices of stamped and he did know the numbers of people who voted by male. Let something that members of staff you would think it would prepare them for, if not prepare himself, as the head of the agency. If you hadn't only answers to those questions, would they have come off a sort of petty gotcha and made the whole session much less effective? How do you about you just as a pure, like a legal machine cross examining ass, a great strategic question, you're thinking with your

you know when I bet this buffoon doesn't know anything about the agency. Ask him this most simple questions about the prices of stamps and you would think a member. The staff, I would have said well, yeah congresswoman, thou, be very effective, but you know maybe he doesn't know how. I can look, what you ve. So I think look we have we seen her question a few times that I've really focus on. I haven't watched enough to know the sort of depth of her ability, so I wanted you know, Sir Caution, that But now let me tell you what I my immediate take away. Was these are kind of question of like well how much really now like how connected are you really to the agency and by the way, if he had answered ten twenty of these in a row. I used to do the state legislative testimony on our budget, and you know more questions. You can answer correctly, the more people now like. Oh, they know their staff and you know they sort of move on so should they lay over there asked if she would probably would have she would have throttle back, but don't you think that, like I think she had a bunch of life,

of questions set up and other wine, which is this? You know who basically the decision hiding overtime and that's a great example of like a cross examine a cross examination avenue, because at the end of the day there is a direct correlation. He cuts. Overtime. Seniors are waiting like there ve been all these testimonials there's dares data that shows the male delays have got up. There's all this anecdotal testimony quality of evidence. That seniors are saying. I had to wait for my mail. I had to go put money out of my pocket and serve getting it through my health insurance, because the male didn't come in time, and so you know ultimately A very winning line of argument here became really interesting because he was basically like. I didn't do it. I don't know who did it so he looked completely and competent, but there's a the version that that could have gone where he said. Yes, I authorized that because I think more inefficient, and I want them to be more efficient. So if I cut over time, I think they're gonna be more efficient and then you through cross. Examining like it your way,

essentially to have an eighty five year old person who needs heart. Medicine go without that medicine no other way you can improve the function of your agency and by the way, what your proof that this is that the overtime is what's causing the inefficiency. So I think it would have a much more complicated train of cross examination, but that you know there were few points that are just really. The facts are Arafat so again. I think I go back to my initial point of like how prepared why she like how able which you have been able to do that, but I think I wonder you agree with this. She knows how to ask the second and third question under because she listened yes, she listens you're. My questions are There's another example: we also previewed how we thought. I think we mention this. How a yo see Alexandria, Cassio Cortez would do she doesn't

legal training. She gets marked by republicans for having been a bartender. I think she is one most effective questioners and the entire body, and Mr De Jure, you received about one point: eight six million dollars in rental payments from your former company expiate, cracked proximately us have you taken any meetings with Ex peel logistics since becoming postmastership? Not have you email, texted, called video conference or communicated with your former company expiate logistics? I have many friends the company and I've spoken and casual over the past several months since I probably would have spoken to thank you, she's like taking a deaf deposition, and I mean that is a very high compliment and she asked should she had. She had. I think, mostly your trained her fire on one topic, and that is meetings that the joy might have had with people from his former company, because this perhaps a conflict of interest, and she asked him repeated quest.

About his calendar, whether it keeps a counter who has access to the counter, whether he will provide the calendar to the Congress and It wasn't showy, but it actually has the effect of being in a kind of dramatic, because her simple focused means getting two facts and cheap Haitian down, and he said now I want provided and so again when you put all this together, he looks like day, I think, we're effective at making him look like he doesn't know, what's happening urgency or he's lying about that one or one of two things either, which is bad and he's not willing to provide the kind of transparency that the legislators are asking for. Two. No, like look what's really going. I like you say that you're getting mindful of complex. You know how much oftener you seeing these people and I think that that they both were very effective. I agree with you now.

as we go back to the same point, the witches he did his time he went before the Congress. The house passed a bill basically called delivering for America ACT, asking for an additional twenty five billion funding confusion for the Post office, it sounds like Mcconnell will not take it up in the Senate, but the woman was interesting is that Some are public and house members switch sides and voted for that bill and that something we have not been seeing a lot of, and so I think that nothing, twenty twenty six racism and I think the poster time both that's what everybody needs: a post office. Everybody relies on the post office, and so I guess the question. My mind is, I guess there three questions one is has already done. how much damage that there will be problems with voting to. Does he stay true to his word and basically saying he's not gonna make additional changes and three you know It will be if, if anything goes, wrong will be two way by the time we find out. so something else happened since we last taped and I went

Did you do it on my own because you were taking some well deserved days off? Thank you I'll. Take fifteen or seventeen minutes about dynasty bad. I hope you enjoy the sample of a cafe insider Parkhurst to listen to this, Episode had to Cathy dot com lash insider and try out the membership free for two weeks interested students with a valid eda you email can had to out dot slash student to the many of you who have chosen to join the insider community. Thank you for supporting our work.