As Alaskans vote, state’s top federal prosecutor confirms criminal investigation of Dem groups

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched criminal and civil investigations into groups affiliated with the U.S. Senate campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, Alaska’s top federal prosecutor confirmed Friday during a news conference with reporters.

Michael Heyman, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska, said there has been “a significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska” since the New York Times published an article describing how Democratic campaigners sought to recruit spoiler candidates who could siphon votes away from incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, who is running for re-election.

Heyman said the investigation has been ongoing for months but the Times article gave it new momentum.

One of the people allegedly recruited by the campaigners was independent Dan J. Sullivan, who is on the election ballot alongside the incumbent, Peltola and Republican Gerald Heikes.

Despite repeated questions, Heyman did not say what law the Peltola-affiliated groups are being accused of breaking. 

Recruiting a spoiler candidate isn’t against the law unless accompanied by some other violation, such as lying to a court or offering a bribe to a candidate.

“I mean, you’re assuming that there is a crime being committed. It’s a criminal investigation, right? And that’s what we do — we investigate whether a crime has been committed under several theories, so I’m not going to comment on what those theories are, and I’m also not going to put the cart before the horse,” he said.

Heyman also declined to say who is being investigated by federal officials.

Speaking Thursday night in Juneau, Peltola said she was unaware of the recruitment effort, denying one element of the Times reporting. 

Peltola’s campaign organization, Alaskans for Mary, has also denied involvement, but the Times article describes events before that group’s creation and also said an intermediary did much of the recruiting.

Separately from the federal criminal investigation, Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state-level criminal investigation by the Alaska Department of Public Safety. That agency also declined to say who is being investigated and what law might have been broken.

In civil court, the Department of Justice has sued the Alaska Division of Elections and has asked U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason — an appointee of President Barack Obama — to prevent the state from declaring anyone but Dan S. Sullivan the winner of the U.S. Senate election.

That could allow time for further investigation, federal attorneys argued, and on Friday, they filed a motion asking a judge to order the Division of Elections to preserve all ballots cast for Dan S. Sullivan.

The Division of Elections promptly responded that it already preserves federal ballots for 22 months. 

The federal government also asked Gleason to order the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — two groups linked by the New York Times to the recruitment effort — to turn over related text messages and other communications.

The Times relied on text messages provided by a former Peltola campaign manager when reporting its article.

That request may not matter — Gleason is expected to first rule on whether or not the Department of Justice is allowed to bring its lawsuit at all. The U.S. Constitution prescribes that states, not the federal government, are in charge of elections except where provided by Congress.

The federal government has offered a legally tenuous argument stating that the introduction to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 gives the federal government a general interest in elections, but that argument has been opposed by the Division of Elections, Democratic groups, nonpartisan groups that have intervened in the lawsuit, the NAACP and other experts offering legal advice to the court.

Gleason has indicated that she will rule no later than Monday on whether or not the federal government has standing.

Some outside experts believe the legal actions in Alaska are part of a broader campaign by the administration of President Donald Trump to disrupt a possible Democratic wave in the ongoing general election.

National polling indicates Democratic candidates may perform significantly better than normal in races across the country during this year’s midterm elections. 

Alaska’s Senate race is one of a handful that may decide whether Democrats or Republicans control the U.S. Senate. If control of the Senate comes down to Alaska and Peltola wins but is denied the opportunity to take office, it could preserve Republican control for weeks or months longer than normal.

This week, Dunleavy declined to say whether he would certify Peltola the winner of the election if she received the most votes. 

Last week, Trump said he had ordered the Department of Justice to file the civil complaint against the Division of Elections.

On Friday, a CNN reporter asked Heyman if he had spoken with the White House about the criminal or civil investigation.

“I have not had any discussions with the White House about those complaints,” Heyman said.

Speaking Oct. 13 at a rally in Wasilla, Trump told a crowd that he had just met with Heyman.

“I told him — I just shook his hand, took a picture — I said I hope you’re going to make sure there’s no cheating, because any place you have rank(ed) choice, you have damn bad cheating. And we can’t let that happen. So, we’re going to defend the integrity of Alaska’s elections,” Trump said.

Speaking to reporters on Friday in Anchorage, Heyman said, “This is all about election integrity. I want to encourage everyone with information on whether it be the information that we know about the Dan Sullivan issue or any other election integrity issue, to contact the FBI.”