The Justice Department is investigating allegations that Democratic operatives recruited Alaska Senate candidate Daniel J. Sullivan, dubbed "Decoy Dan," to siphon votes from Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan—prompting liberal-leaning election-law experts to accuse the Trump administration of federal overreach.
But former Federal Election Commission member Hans von Spakovsky argued that the Biden-era Justice Department’s prosecution of Donald Trump over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election laid the groundwork for the Alaska probe. "The Justice Department has talked about a potential conspiracy to defraud the voters of Alaska and people are saying, 'Oh, he's got no case. That's a weak case,'" Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital.
"Well, I suggest you do a Google search and pull up the indictment that Jack Smith got against Donald Trump in the District of Columbia. He set a precedent for this." Joined by FBI officials and Alaska State Troopers, Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman announced at a Friday press conference that the Justice Department has been investigating whether Daniel J.
Sullivan, a retired school teacher who will appear on the ballot without a party affiliation, was colluding with Democratic operatives tied to Democratic candidate Mary Peltola's campaign. The Justice Department previously sued Alaska election officials, seeking to block certification if Sen. Dan Sullivan loses re-election by fewer votes than those cast for Daniel J.
The lawsuit was amended Friday to include reporting by The New York Times that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and senior aides of Peltola's campaign allegedly worked to recruit candidates who could pull votes away from Sen. Heyman mentioned the Times reporting repeatedly in the press conference. MARY PELTOLA'S CAMPAIGN, DEMS BACKED COVERT SCHEME TO FIELD SPOILER CANDIDATES IN ALASKA SENATE RACE: REPORT "We are taking that extremely seriously," Hetman said.
Sources at the Justice Department told Fox News Thursday that the Trump administration had issued more than 30 subpoeanas in a span of 24 hours as part of its criminal investigation into the alleged collusion, but Heyman did not say at the press conference what criminal charges are being pursued. "I'm not making any assumptions on whether a crime has been committed or not," Heyman said. "That's why we are conducting that thorough investigation." Von Spakovsky, a former Federal Election Commission commissioner, said potential indictments of Democratic operatives in the Alaska Senate race could rely on federal statutes similar to those Smith, the former special counsel, used in his 2023 indictment of Trump over alleged efforts to overturn the election.
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