DOJ Issues New Subpoenas in Alaska Senate Race Spoiler Probe

The Justice Department has begun issuing a new round of subpoenas in a criminal investigation into Alaska's U.S. Senate race, targeting Democratic officials tied to an alleged effort to recruit a candidate who shares a name with Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

The subpoenas, confirmed to ABC News on Oct. 29, mark the latest escalation by the Trump administration in a race that could help decide control of the Senate just days before the midterm elections. They follow a separate civil lawsuit the administration filed last week seeking an injunction against Alaska certifying its election results if Sen. Sullivan narrowly loses. A federal judge is expected to rule on that request in the coming days, according to ABC News.

Who is the subpoena investigation targeting?

The subpoenas are aimed at Democratic officials believed to be connected to an effort to get Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, onto Alaska's ballot alongside incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan, according to the sources who spoke to ABC News. The two men share nearly identical names, and investigators are examining whether placing Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot was designed to siphon votes from the senator and benefit Democratic candidate Mary Peltola.

Alaska's Supreme Court had previously affirmed that Daniel J. Sullivan's candidacy was legal, even if, as ABC News reported, the court found it was not entirely undertaken in "good faith."

What triggered the Justice Department's involvement?

The probe followed an Oct. 28 report by The New York Times, cited by ABC News, that detailed alleged efforts by Democrats and some members of Peltola's campaign to recruit the second Dan Sullivan. The Times report said it drew on 12 sources along with text messages and documents allegedly showing campaign staff, lawyers for Peltola, and senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pushing to find a spoiler candidate.

Attorney General Todd Blanche addressed the Times report in an Oct. 28 interview with Fox News, describing the recruitment effort in blunt terms.

"I expect you're going to hear more from the Department of Justice this week as we learn more information," Blanche said, after calling Sullivan's candidacy and the recruitment effort "cheating" and "fraud," according to ABC News.

The new subpoenas arrived within a day of that warning.

How have Alaska officials and the campaigns responded?

Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered his own investigation into the recruitment effort after the Times report surfaced, according to ABC News. In a statement cited by the network, Dunleavy said the report revealed "new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska's elections" by recruiting candidates intended to confuse voters and misdirect their votes.

The campaigns named in the Times report have pushed back. Alaskans for Mary, the committee for Peltola's campaign, said through a spokesperson that it "has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign," ABC News reported. The DSCC separately told ABC News in a statement that it was "not involved with Dan J. Sullivan."

What does the civil lawsuit seek to do?

Separate from the criminal subpoenas, the Trump administration filed a civil lawsuit last week asking a federal court to block Alaska from certifying its Senate election results if Sen. Sullivan loses by a narrow margin, according to ABC News. A ruling from the federal judge overseeing that request is expected within days, the network reported. The lawsuit and the subpoenas represent two distinct legal tracks the administration is pursuing around the same race, one civil and one criminal, both tied to the same underlying allegations about the second Sullivan candidacy.

What happens next in the investigation?

No criminal charges have been announced, and ABC News did not report the specific legal theory prosecutors are pursuing or which individuals have received subpoenas by name. The outcome of the pending federal court ruling on the certification injunction, along with any further Justice Department action Blanche previewed, is likely to shape how the race is resolved in the days before voters go to the polls. Dunleavy's state-level inquiry is proceeding separately from the federal probe, giving Alaska two parallel investigations into the same alleged recruitment effort as the midterm contest heads toward its close.

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