House committee asks about USPS covert program

Washington Postal Scene by Bill McAllister

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has asked the United States Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General to review the involvement of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in a recently disclosed internet covert operations program.

The Postal Inspection Service, the investigative branch of the USPS, acknowledged its participation in the clandestine program in late April. Details were reported in the May 17 issue of Linn’s Stamp News.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the Oversight and Reform Committee, and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the committee’s ranking member, sought an assessment of the Postal Inspection Service’s role in the program and whether its actions were authorized.

“These activities raise serious questions about the scope of the program, the extent of sharing of information among law enforcement agencies and whether USPIS has the authority to conduct such an operation,” the lawmakers said in a May 25 statement.

In admitting its participation in the covert program, the Postal Inspection Service said it was looking for inflammatory posts on social media outlets and sharing its findings with other law enforcement agencies.

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