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A poll worker sorts the ballots sent.
Nathan Howard, Getty Images, AFP
- A United States Postal Service worker in Pennsylvania who went public with the allegations of ballot tampering and signed an affidavit has retracted his statement.
- Richard Hopkins told a right-wing activist website that he had seen his supervisor talk about ballot feedback and was later contacted by USPS investigators.
- But investigators informed committee staff that Hopkins had retracted his allegations and would not explain why he had signed the false affidavit.
A United States Postal Service (USPS) worker in Pennsylvania who went public with allegations of ballot tampering and signed an affidavit has retracted his statement, according to the House Oversight Committee.
On November 6, Richard Hopkins told a right-wing activist website that he had witnessed his supervisor talk about ballot feedback and was later contacted by USPS investigators.
But investigators informed committee staff Tuesday night that Hopkins had retracted his allegations and would not explain why he had signed the false affidavit.
President Donald Trump has been trying to challenge the outcome of last week’s election, which was declared for Democrat Joe Biden on Saturday, by claiming, without any evidence, that there was widespread electoral fraud.
The day after Hopkins went public, he created a GoFundMe page saying he was willing to testify under oath that the ballots were backdated and asked for donations because he said his employer was threatening his job.
“Your donations will help me in the event I am unfairly fired from my job or forced to resign due to [sic] ostracism from my co-workers, ”said the GoFundMe page.
“It will help me start over in a place where I feel safe and it will help me with child support until I can settle down and get a job.”
As of Tuesday night, Hopkins had raised $ 133,000, but hours after Al Jazeera contacted him for comment, the GoFundMe page was taken down and he did not respond.
Postal vote increase
The Washington Post newspaper previously reported that Hopkins, 32, had admitted to USPS investigators that he fabricated the allegations, citing three officials who had been briefed on the investigation.
Senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham took advantage of the postal worker’s testimony when he asked the Justice Department to investigate allegations of voter fraud, and Attorney General William Barr opened that investigation, the newspaper said.
When asked about Hopkins in a press call Tuesday night, Trump’s campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said: “He filed a very detailed affidavit, named names, explicitly described what he experienced and did not We know what kind of pressure he’s been under since he made those statements. “
Legal filings in Pennsylvania have addressed very few cases of suspected fraud. Voting is still going on in states like Arizona and Georgia, which remain too close to call.
President Donald Trump and his campaign have filed numerous lawsuits in key swing states and have asked the courts to issue injunctions to stop certifying the results.
Biden was named the winner of the election on Saturday after he took the key battlefield state of Pennsylvania and has been congratulated on his victory by leaders around the world, as well as many Republicans.
The election took place as the coronavirus pandemic accelerated in the US and millions of people chose to vote by mail rather than in person due to concerns about the disease.
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