Two right-wing agitators have been approaching men and asking them to falsely accuse Pete Buttigieg of sexual assault, a Republican source told The Daily Beast on Monday.
Buttigieg is the openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. The source, who asked The Daily Beast not to use his name over fears of retaliation, alleges he was asked last week by Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl to lie and say Buttigieg assaulted him when he was drunk, in an attempt to harm Buttigieg politically. Burkman and Wohl used false names, the man said, but he recognized Wohl, and knowing his history as an online troll, he decided to record their conversation. An audio forensics expert who listened to the recording for The Daily Beast confirmed that Wohl is one of the speakers.
The source, who described himself as a supporter of President Trump, told The Daily Beast that during the meeting he was thinking the scheme was "the Fyre Festival of political operations." He did not agree to participate.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Monday, a person using the name Hunter Kelly published a post on Medium accusing Buttigieg of sexually assaulting him in February. Wohl's father, David, tweeted a link to the post, and a right-wing conspiracy website quickly did a writeup about it. The Daily Beast tracked down Kelly, who said he has no control over the Medium account or a Twitter account created this month in his name. He then wrote on Facebook that he "was not sexually assaulted and would never falsely accuse anyone," and told The Advocate that Wohl and Burkman had tried to rope him into their scheme Sunday.
Wohl and Burkman did not respond to The Daily Beast's requests for comment. Buttigieg said the false accusation is "not going to throw us. Politics can be ugly sometimes, but you have to face that when you're in presidential politics." Read more about this convoluted tale at The Daily Beast.
-
5 dramatically dysfunctional cartoons about the government shutdownCartoons Artists take on life without government, foam finger pointing, and more
-
October 4 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include the Einstein files, defunding the police, and an odd tribute to Jane Goodall
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipeThe Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsionSpeed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deploymentSpeed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
