Federal prosecutors are ramping up the intensity of a criminal investigation concerning how Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. got on Alaska’s U.S. Senate ballot to take on Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), with subpoenas being issued by a grand jury as investigators continue to look into whether voters’ rights were violated. Many claim that Sullivan Jr. purposefully got himself on the ballot to confuse voters and prevent the incumbent Sullivan from taking home a victory in the midterm elections.
Bill Melugin, a correspondent for Fox News, relayed reporting provided by his colleague David Sprunt on social media platform X, writing that the criminal investigation has been going on now for months and has gained urgency after a New York Times investigation into efforts by Democratic operatives to recruit the senator’s namesake.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office located in Alaska is handling the matter, according to reporting from Sprunt. Investigators were getting ready to seek preservation of communications held by phone companies and are expected to issue a number of subpoenas soon. Prosecutors also want to create an accurate sequence of events that have brought Sullivan into the race to see if possible offenses involving the deprivation of Alaska voters’ rights were committed.
According to Breitbart News, the investigation into the situation is expected to go on well past Election Day. Previous media reports state that federal authorities have been looking into potential wire fraud or some kind of conspiracy involving the fairness of the election process. It was unclear at that time who might ultimately face charges.
Sullivan Jr. is the candidate under scrutiny. He is a retired teacher from Petersburg, Alaska, which is a small community located in the Southeast part of the state. He is a completely different person from the incumbent GOP senator who is seeking reelection. The developments come after a report from the New York Times revealed an investigation into potential efforts involving folks working with Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to recruit candidates.
The account from the Times was based on interviews conducted with 12 different sources, text messages, and documents. The effort also included looking for residents in the state who shared the incumbent senator’s name. In other words, the left was doing their best to rig an election by purposely causing voters to experience confusion.
Elisa Rose, Peltola’s former campaign manager, spoke with the Times and stated that voters need to know about the recruitment effort. Peltola’s campaign has consistently denied any involvement after the story came out. The campaign went on to say in a statement reported by Alaska Public Media, “The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Like Mary, our campaign is focused on lowering costs and fixing the rigged system in DC.”
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President Donald Trump has weighed in on the situation, calling for both Peltola and the second Sullivan to be removed from the ballot and legally prosecuted, accusing Democrats of intentionally recruiting him to mislead voters. “This is Voter Fraud at the Highest Level, and the Dumocrat Candidate, who was involved in the scheme, Mary Peltola, should be removed from the Ballot and prosecuted — So should the FAKE Dan Sullivan,” Trump wrote.
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