PLOT TWIST

The USPS ‘Whistleblower’ Saga Keeps Getting Weirder

The postal service worker whose allegation of backdated ballots was touted by Trump’s GOP allies now denies that he recanted his claim.

A postal worker whose allegation of corrupt mail-ballot counting in Pennsylvania was presented to Attorney General Bill Barr by President Trump’s allies as a reason to open an investigation into widespread voter fraud has reportedly recanted his claim. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee were informed by the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General that the USPS worker, Richard Hopkins, recanted his allegation Sunday after being interviewed by investigators Friday, a Democratic aide told The Daily Beast. Hopkins had alleged that he overheard a postmaster in Erie, Pennsylvania, directing staffers to backdate ballots that were mailed after the Election Day deadline. Hopkins’ claim, which was publicized by Project Veritas before getting the attention of the Trump campaign, was included by Trump’s GOP allies in a letter to Barr urging an investigation, and Barr greenlit the investigation a short time later. The Washington Post reported that Hopkins not only recanted his allegations in a sworn affidavit but admitted to having made them up. But in a YouTube video posted by Project Veritas late Tuesday, Hopkins called on the Post to “recant” their report and said “that is not what happened” and that he “did not recant” his statements. “And you will find out tomorrow,” he said, without elaborating.

—Erin Banco contributed reporting