Day 1391

[matt (Matt Kiser)]

1/ Attorney General William Barr authorized federal prosecutors to investigate “substantial allegations” of voter fraud – if they exist – before the results of the election are certified, despite no evidence of widespread fraud. In a reversal of long-standing Justice Department policy, Barr wrote that investigations “may be conducted if there are clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State.” In Barr’s directive, he said he had already approved probes related to the 2020 election “in specific instances,” but did not elaborate on the circumstances or whether they remained open. (New York Times / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post)

---

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2020/11/10/day-1391/

[dragonfly9]

Big story…a US Postal worker recants a story which would have helped the GOP and now says the story was fabricated. Sen Graham had tried to use it to open up Federal Investigations.

There goes some of the voter fraud story. Poof.

Kyle Griffin (kylegriffin1)

Postal worker admits fabricating allegations of ballot tampering, officials say

A Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims have been cited by top Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voting irregularities admitted to U.S. Postal Service investigators that he fabricated the allegations, according to three people briefed on the investigation and a statement from a House congressional committee.

Richard Hopkins’s claim that a postmaster in Erie, Pa., instructed postal workers to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day was cited by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) in a letter to the Justice Department calling for a federal investigation. Attorney General William P. Barr subsequently authorized federal prosecutors to open probes into credible allegations of voting irregularities and fraud, a reversal of long-standing Justice Department policy.

But on Monday, Hopkins, 32, told investigators from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General that the allegations were not true, and he signed an affidavit recanting his claims, according to the people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee tweeted late Tuesday that the “whistleblower completely RECANTED.”

[dragonfly9]

@matt

Biden, meanwhile, called Trump’s refusal to concede the election an “embarrassment” that “will not help his legacy.

and a tiny concession from McConnell

Election 2020 live updates: Biden speaks on health care, calls Trump refusal...

President-elect Joe Biden continued at a news conference Tuesday to project the authority of an incoming president even as President Trump resists conceding the race. Biden defended the Affordable Care Act soon after the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case involving President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law. He also called Trump’s refusal to concede “an embarrassment” and said he may start naming Cabinet members as soon as this month.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters that legal challenges being pressed by Trump are “no reason for alarm” and would not prevent a new administration, “if there is one,” from taking office in January. Biden said he has not yet spoken to McConnell, but intends to in the “not too distant future.”