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Trump says he directed lawsuit targeting Alaska Senate election certification
President Trump said Friday he directed the Department of Justice to seek to block certification of Alaska's Senate election if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses in November.
President Trump said Friday that he directed the Department of Justice to file a lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska's Senate election if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses in November.
The department filed the lawsuit Thursday, arguing that a candidate with a similar name to Sullivan's would make a victory by Democrat Mary Peltola invalid. Trump said he had personally authorized the challenge.
The department alleged that Daniel J. Sullivan was running to confuse voters. It asked a judge to block certification if the incumbent loses but would have won had all votes for Daniel J. Sullivan gone to him.
The two Sullivans will appear differently on the ballot, with the senator identified as the incumbent and as a Republican.
Trump has alleged that Democrats recruited Daniel J. Sullivan. Claims that the candidacy is a Democratic effort to confuse voters and secure a Peltola victory have not been substantiated.
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Politics ·
Alaska voters and groups seek dismissal of Justice Department election lawsuit
Two Alaska voters, the League of Women Voters of Alaska and Common Cause filed a motion Friday asking the Alaska district court to dismiss the Justice Department's case. The filing was made on behalf of the voters and both organizations.
The Justice Department's Thursday lawsuit seeks to block certification if Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola by fewer votes than independent candidate Daniel J. Sullivan receives. The independent is listed on the ballot without a party affiliation.
The department alleges that the independent's candidacy is intended to help Peltola by misleading supporters of Senator Sullivan into voting for the other candidate.
The dismissal motion also asks the court to consider sanctions against the attorneys who signed the complaint. It argues that the complaint is frivolous and lacks support in case law, legal principles or a tenable interpretation of the National Voter Registration Act.
To support that request, the filing alleges that the case was brought at President Trump's direction. It cites his response when asked about the case Friday: “I'm the one that said do it.”
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Blanche defends lawsuit targeting Alaska Senate election certification
Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Trump administration's lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska's Senate results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses. He argued that the challenge was necessary to prevent confusion among voters.
Blanche told CNN's State of the Union that President Donald Trump was not trying to overturn state election results ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Trump had said Friday that he personally directed the legal action.
Republicans fear that another candidate named Dan Sullivan, a retired teacher and school administrator from Petersburg, could draw votes away from the senator and help Democrat Mary Peltola win. That concern is about a possible outcome, rather than an established election result.
The ballot distinguishes the candidates: Dan S. Sullivan is labeled a registered Republican and the incumbent, while Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has no party affiliation listed.
Trump said Sunday that he considered the ballot illegal because it was unfair and argued that Sullivan should be identified as the sitting senator.
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