On Election Day, the Justice Department told about 20 people—including Democratic elections lawyer Marc Elias—they may be criminal targets in a probe of how a second candidate named Sullivan landed on Alaska’s U.S. Senate ballot.
What the department is doing
According to ABC News, CBS News and Axios, federal prosecutors have issued roughly 20 target or preservation letters in recent days and are working through more than 100 subpoenas. Sources told those outlets the Alaska grand jury is looking at possible conspiracy and donor-fraud offenses tied to recruiting unaffiliated candidate Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, to appear on the same ballot as Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.
Among those named as letter recipients is Marc Elias, whose firm has represented Democratic candidates including Mary Peltola. CBS News reported that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee separately received a grand jury subpoena. Politico reported that Peltola herself did not receive a target letter.
A target letter tells someone they are a focus of a grand jury inquiry. It is not an indictment and does not mean charges will follow.
How each side frames it
- Elias: In a statement to ABC and CBS, he said, “No one should be surprised that President Trump’s Department of Justice is targeting me and my law firm on Election Day,” called the probe a “sham,” and said the administration has “weaponized the DOJ against the President’s political enemies despite zero evidence of wrongdoing.”
- Administration and allies: President Trump has publicly denounced the second Sullivan candidacy as a “fraud” and a Democratic “con job,” and over the weekend said Sen. Chuck Schumer and Elias “should be held criminally responsible,” according to CBS News. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller has pointed to a federal civil-rights conspiracy statute as a possible theory.
- Peltola campaign / DSCC: Both have denied any connection to putting Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot, according to CBS and Axios. Election experts cited by those outlets note that recruiting a “spoiler” candidate has been used by both parties and is often treated as controversial politics rather than a clear crime.
Why it matters today
Alaska voters are deciding a competitive Senate race that could affect control of Congress. A federal judge on Sunday dismissed a separate Justice Department lawsuit that sought to block certification of the Senate result under certain conditions; the department appealed. U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said Friday the probe surged after public reporting, saying investigators would take election-integrity claims seriously “even if it is a few days before the election.”
The letters landed as Alaskans voted and as discussion of the probe spread widely on X. No charges have been announced.
