Justice Department Subpoenas Alaska Campaigns in Probe of a Second Dan Sullivan on the Senate Ballot
Federal investigators have issued more than 40 subpoenas in an escalating inquiry into how a challenger who shares the incumbent senator's name entered the Alaska race, Reuters reported — and AP says the department is now seeking to isolate Alaska ballots.
The Justice Department has escalated its investigation into the candidacy of an Alaska Senate candidate who shares a name with the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, issuing more than 40 subpoenas and requests to preserve documents, with more expected, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The subpoenas reached both sides of the race, according to Reuters' source: the campaign of the Republican challenger, Dan J. Sullivan, and the campaign of the Democratic nominee, Mary Peltola, were both among the recipients. The inquiry centers on how the second Sullivan entered the race against the incumbent.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Peltola's campaign was involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan into the race, according to Reuters' account of the investigation — the allegation at the heart of the federal inquiry, which is examining whether the namesake candidacy was a coordinated effort to confuse Alaska voters.
The probe is still moving as Election Day approaches. The Associated Press reported that the Justice Department is seeking to isolate Alaska ballots as the criminal probe gets underway, a development that led the Google News U.S. top-stories listing read by this desk overnight. The Alaska race is one of the contests that will decide control of the Senate on Tuesday, and Austin Capital News will follow any court filings or department statements in the case.
