The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the US Postal Service worker who had alleged overhearing a plot to commit vote fraud had recanted his story and that there was nothing to the allegation. But that whistleblower is standing up to say “Not true!”
On Tuesday, The Post, citing three anonymous sources connected to the US Postal Services Office of Inspector General, reported that the whistleblower had admitted to making a fraudulent statement claiming a plot to commit vote fraud in the Erie, Pennsylvania postal facility.
Richard Hopkins, the whistleblower in question, had come forth with allegations that he overheard the postmaster and a supervisor at the facility scheming to backdate ballots that arrived after the deadline so as to make them eligible to be counted.
But Hopkins, 32 and a former US Marine, told Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe that he most certainly did not recant his charge and that federal agents, in fact, coerced a statement from him diminishing his claim under threat.
USPS Whistleblower Richard Hopkins: “I DID NOT RECANT”@shawnboburg and @jacobbogage have been played by the same federal agents on the audio ‘coercing,’ ‘scaring’ the whistleblower to water down allegations. As reporters, they are REQUIRED to include Richard’s denial. REQUIRED pic.twitter.com/8Rj5yWSljz
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) November 11, 2020
O’Keefe tweeted that federal agents “coerced” Hopkins for as long as four hours to sign a statement he didn’t fully understand and while depriving him of legal representation.
“We have recordings of the federal agents, who COERCED this man through a 4-hour interrogation, without representation,” O’Keefe tweeted, adding that the Hopkins “stands by his original affidavit re: backdating ballots.”
RECORDING: Federal agents “coerce” USPS whistleblower Hopkins to water down story. Hopkins doubles down…
Agent Strasser: “I am trying to twist you a little bit”
“I am scaring you here”…” we have Senators involved…DOJ involved…reason they called me is to try to harness.” pic.twitter.com/tK2JPu6Wqm
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) November 11, 2020
Hopkins told O’Keefe that he reached out to Washington Post reporters Shawn Boburg and Jacob Bogage to demand that they include in their report his statement that he did not recant his claims but that they refused to take his calls.
It is reported that Hopkins protected himself against illegal workplace retaliation by wearing a wire during the interview with the USPS IG interviewers.
During the USPS IG interview Hopkins “was told he could be charged with using deception to raise money on a GoFundMe page if he didn’t ‘update’ his affidavit in exchange for protection.”
Hopkins’s GoFundMe page – a page started to cover what most likely would be a sizable legal bill – had raised more than $136,000 by Tuesday evening, but was removed by GoFundMe after The Post’s story was published Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the platform.
In a tweet issued in the dark of night, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee joined The Post in falsely debunking Hopkins’ claims, saying that he had “completely RECANTED.”
President Trump seemed to side with Hopkins on Wednesday, as he tweeted what appeared to be support for the whistleblower.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1326522116779487243
