A postal worker in Pennsylvania who said the postmaster in Erie, Pa., instructed employees to backdate ballots mailed after election day has recanted his story, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing three officials briefed on the case.
But the postal worker has said in a YouTube posting he has not recanted.
The claim by Richard Hopkins has been used by Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voter fraud as President Donald Trump's reelection campaign files lawsuits seeking to overturn the results in key states.
Attorney General Bill Barr on Monday issued a memo citing voting irregularities in authorizing federal prosecutors to pursue credible cases.
According to the Post, Hopkins on Monday admitted to investigators from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General that his allegations were not true and signed an affidavit recanting his claims. Democrat members of the House Oversight Committee tweeted on Tuesday: the "whistleblower completely RECANTED."
Hopkins denied recanting in a YouTube video posted Tuesday night.
"I'm here to say I did not recant my statements. That did not happen," he said.
Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told the Post that Hopkins' statements were only a small part of their case in Pennsylvania.
Erie Postmaster Rob Weisenbach has denied the allegations, calling them "100% false," adding that they were made "by an employee that was recently disciplined multiple times."
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