© Rachel Wisniewski/Reuters
A Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims have been cited by top Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voting irregularities
admitted to U.S. Postal Service investigators that he
fabricated the allegations, according to three officials briefed on the investigation and a statement from a House congressional committee.
Richard Hopkins's claim that a postmaster in Erie, Pa., instructed postal workers to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day was cited by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) in a letter to the Justice Department calling for a federal investigation. Attorney General William P. Barr subsequently
authorized federal prosecutors to open probes into credible allegations of voting irregularities and fraud before results are certified, a reversal of long-standing Justice Department policy.
But on Monday, Hopkins, 32, told investigators from the U.S. Postal Service's Office of Inspector General that the allegations were not true, and he signed an affidavit recanting his claims, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee tweeted late Tuesday that the "whistleblower completely RECANTED."
Hopkins did not respond to messages from
The Washington Post seeking comment through his social media accounts, family members and phone messages earlier this week. But in a YouTube video he posted Tuesday night, he denied recanting.
"I'm here to say I did not recant my statements. That did not happen," he said.
Comment: The Democrats and their intel servants destroyed General Flynn with a bogus charge. Four years later, his trial outcome is still languishing in the court while the Biden cabal is doing the exact same thing.