* * * MAJOR UPDATE 2 * * *
NEW: Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman have been trying to recruit young men to falsely claim they were sexually assaulted by Pete Buttigieg.
One recorded their convo and gave us the audio.
Another says allegations published today in his name are bullshit https://t.co/9RDYOe5aAw
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) April 29, 2019
Wohl also appears to have set up a company, Potomac Intelligence, to use in the scheme, complete with fake LinkedIn pages. Minutes after I called him and Burkman, the website was taken down, the LI pages deleted, and both its phone numbers disconnected https://t.co/9RDYOe5aAw
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) April 30, 2019
Btw, our primary source on this story described himself as a die-hard Trump supporter
He also said that obviously what these guys are trying to do is deeply wrong, that he respects Buttigieg’s military service, and that Wohl, left unchecked, will do nothing but damage to the GOP
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) April 30, 2019
Here’s more via the Daily Beast:
A Republican source told The Daily Beast that lobbyist Jack Burkman and internet troll Jacob Wohl approached him last week to try to convince him to falsely accuse Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, of engaging him sexually while he was too drunk to consent.
The source who spoke to The Daily Beast said Burkman and Wohl made clear that their goal was to kneecap Buttigieg’s momentum in the 2020 presidential race. The man asked to remain anonymous out of a concern that the resulting publicity might imperil his employment, and because he said Wohl and Burkman have a reputation for vindictiveness.
But the source provided The Daily Beast with a surreptitious audio recording of the meeting, which corroborates his account. In it, Wohl appears to refer to Buttigieg as a “terminal threat” to President Donald Trump’s reelection next year.
Neither Burkman nor Wohl responded to repeated requests for comment on this story. But after The Daily Beast contacted them last week, traces of the scheme disappeared from the web and social media.
So that pretty much sums it up for me. Disgusting tactics by disgusting people.
* * * MAJOR UPDATE * * *
It appears that all of this is a phony story, denied by the actual Hunter Kelly who is working on a statement to share with everyone:
Via GWP:
UPDATE— The 21-year-old Hunter Kelly posted on Facebook message that contradicted his statements on Pete Buttigieg.
A Facebook user Hunter Kelly says that the sexual assault allegations levied against Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a 2020 presidential candidate, are a hoax perpetrated by conservative hoaxer Jacob Wohl.
Big League Politics spoke with Hunter Kelly via Facebook messenger. Hunter Kelly told Big League it was not him.
* * * * * *END MAJOR UPDATES* * * * * *