The Justice Department on Friday acknowledged that its investigation into Democrats who recruited a decoy candidate to run in the Alaska Senate race may never yield criminal charges, defending an inquiry that critics dismissed as a political stunt in the lead-up to Election Day.
Michael J. Heyman, the U.S. attorney for Alaska, told reporters in Anchorage that his office had spent the past few months quietly investigating whether Democratic operatives violated federal laws in recruiting a candidate with the same name to oppose the Republican incumbent, Senator Dan S. Sullivan. The inquiry kicked into high gear after The New York Times reported that aides to Mary Peltola, Mr. Sullivan's Democratic opponent, helped enlist the other candidate, Dan J. Sullivan. But Mr. Heyman declined to say what crimes, if any, were being investigated. "You're assuming that crime was committed," he said.
Democrats and former officials have accused the department of pursuing a political goal under the guise of a legal one: publicizing a scheme that is sordid but not illegal under state law, to energize Republicans before the midterm elections. Mr. Heyman said his office was acting in good faith to protect the integrity of the election, but struggled to explain why the report appeared to expand the investigation or why he announced it days before a hotly disputed vote. Former U.S. attorney Karen Loeffler said she saw no crime, noting that recruiting candidates to draw votes is not unusual.
Separately, the Trump administration asked a federal court to block certification of the Alaska election if Mr. Sullivan narrowly lost, the first such preemptive intervention since the late 1960s. President Trump said he had personally demanded the lawsuit. Judge Sharon L. Gleason is weighing a motion to dismiss the suit and could rule as early as this weekend.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing