Officials: Pennsylvania postal worker admits making up allegations of ballot tampering


A postal worker in Erie, Pennsylvania, who claimed that a postmaster instructed workers to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day, has admitted to U.S. Postal Service investigators that he fabricated his story, three people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post on Tuesday.
Richard Hopkins signed an affidavit saying he heard the supervisor make the order, which was made public by the right-wing group Project Veritas. President Trump has refused to concede the election, claiming there was widespread voter fraud, and his campaign provided Hopkins' affidavit to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Graham then sent a letter to the Department of Justice and FBI regarding the allegations, demanding they launch an investigation.
The Post reports that Hopkins was first interviewed on Friday, and on Sunday, he told investigators he made the whole thing up and signed an affidavit recanting his story. The House Oversight Committee tweeted on Tuesday evening that Hopkins did not explain why he made up the allegations. In a Facebook post, Rob Weisenbach, the postmaster in Erie, said Hopkins' claims were "100 percent false" and "made by an employee that was recently disciplined multiple times. The Erie Post Office did not backdate any ballots."
Subscribe to 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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will Europe beat China and India to the North Pole?
Podcast Plus, is the man who designed the iPhone going to kill his own creation? And what's going on at the equalities watchdog?
-
Is it finally all change for train Wi-Fi?
In The Spotlight South Western Railway's 5G Wi-Fi service has changed the way passengers connect – but will the new system catch on?
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A cheesy chase, a cinema on water, and more
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders