Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa suggested on Monday that the U.S. Department of Labor might delay releasing its October jobs report to help President Barack Obama.

After rumors circulated that the Labor Department might be forced to delay releasing the report because of Hurricane Sandy, Grassley said the bureau might actually be trying to help Obama.

“Labor Dept says may release latest Unemployment figures until after election. Par for course. Why release something might hurt Obama elect?” he tweeted.

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The Labor Department said still intends to release October’s job report as scheduled on Friday despite the hurricane, which has forced government offices to close down.

“The employees at the Bureau of Labor Statistics are working hard to ensure the timely release of employment data on Friday, Nov. 2. It is our intention that Friday will be business as usual regarding the October Employment Situation report,” Labor spokesman Carl Fillichio said in a statement.

Earlier this month, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch accused the Labor Department of publishing fraudulent unemployment numbers in its September report to help Obama. The September unemployment rate fell to a near four-year low of 7.8 percent, according to the report. Welch later admitted he had no evidence to support his accusation.

[Image via Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons licensed]