DOJ Appeals Alaska Senate Race Dismissal as Grand Jury Subpoenas Drop
The Justice Department faces an uphill legal battle in its bid to overturn a federal judge’s dismissal of its Alaska Senate election lawsuit, according to legal experts who questioned whether the government can secure meaningful relief before voting ends Tuesday, foxnews.com reported. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the civil challenge over the presence of two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the ballot.
As the civil appeal moves forward, federal prosecutors have escalated a separate criminal investigation into the race. The Justice Department issued at least 30 grand jury subpoenas as part of a probe examining whether there was coordination between the campaign of Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola and the candidate known as “Decoy Dan,” Dan J. Sullivan, according to the nypost.com report. Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters in Anchorage that the investigation has been ongoing for months, with recent reporting prompting a significant surge of law enforcement assets to the state, kcra.com reported.
Legal Hurdles and the Timeline to Tuesday’s Close of Polls
With voting ending Tuesday, election attorneys note that even a successful appeal leaves the government scrambling. Jason Torchinsky of Holtzman Vogel explained that because the dismissal hinged on standing, any reversal would require seeking emergency injunctive relief from the appeals court or returning to the district court. Given the tight turnaround, attorneys view the appeal as a heavy lift.
Stimson suggested the Justice Department’s broader objective may be establishing a legal record for post-election proceedings rather than securing an immediate injunction. Gore election dispute.
State Investigation Targets Rival Campaign Recruitment Efforts
The legal friction extends beyond federal courts. Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation into whether members of Peltola’s campaign should face criminal charges, describing the candidate recruitment as an organized effort to manipulate the election. Peltola has denied knowing about the effort to place the second Sullivan on the ballot, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has repeatedly denied involvement in any campaign trick.
Meanwhile, a federal judge barred the Justice Department from threatening or coercing election workers or demanding that local officials segregate ballots that the federal government deems potentially cast by ineligible voters, marking a separate blow to administration efforts to assert control over local elections, kcra.com reported. State election officials have maintained that segregating ballots is practically impossible because votes are already comingled.
