Obama-Appointed Judge Tosses DOJ Suit Over ‘Decoy’ Dan Sullivan in Alaska Senate Race; DOJ Appeals

A federal judge on Sunday threw out the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking to hold up certification of Alaska’s Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason, an Obama appointee, ruled in a 20-page order that the federal government lacked standing to bring the case. She did not decide whether the second Dan Sullivan on the ballot, retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan, was recruited to confuse voters, CNBC reported.

“The absence of any explanation from the United States as to how its requested relief could redress its alleged injury while simultaneously maintaining the secrecy of the ballot is telling,” Gleason wrote.

“More fundamentally, the United States provides no workable plan as to how it proposes to segregate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on Election Day and then conduct a court-ordered unspecified ‘investigation’ of those ballots in a manner that would preserve voter secrecy,” she added.

Gleason also refused to let the department amend its complaint again, finding further amendment “would be futile” because the court “lacks the authority to order that certain ballots cast by Alaskans be segregated so that federal law enforcement officials can conduct an unspecified investigation of the voters who cast them.” She cited the Supreme Court’s Purcell principle against changing election rules on the eve of an election, and wrote that the requests “certainly involve the time, place, and manner of Alaska’s election, which are the responsibilities of the State.”

DOJ: Court Didn’t Dispute ‘Decoy Dan’

The Justice Department filed notice that it will take the case to the 9th Circuit.

“The court dismissed the case on procedural grounds but did not dispute the argument of the United States that Daniel J. Sullivan (a/k/a Decoy Dan) entered the race as a frivolous candidate to confuse voters,” a department spokesperson said. “Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled in an attempt to rig outcomes.” The White House referred questions to the DOJ statement, CNBC reported.

Trump has said he ordered the lawsuit, filed Oct. 22. The New York Times reported last week that Peltola campaign aides and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee aides were involved in efforts to recruit the retiree. Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC deny any involvement, and Daniel J. Sullivan said after entering the race in June that he had no contact with her campaign. He has not responded to messages in recent days, according to the Associated Press.

Trump seized on that silence Sunday. “The Fake Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr., has DISAPPEARED! Nobody can find him, including Law Enforcement,” he posted.

Sullivan: ‘She Got Caught Lying’

Before the ruling, Sen. Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” he expects the second name on the ballot to cost him.

“I’m sure I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery,” he said. He doubted Peltola’s claim that she didn’t know her top aides were involved. “There is no way this went on for a year that they weren’t informing her,” he said. “She got caught lying, and she’s still lying to the Alaskan people, the media, to all of us.”

Sullivan also said he would accept the results if he loses, CNBC reported.

Peltola’s campaign called the ruling a rebuke of “a weaponized Department of Justice,” and DSCC executive director Devan Barber called it “a victory for democracy.”

The legal fight is not the only one. The DOJ issued a new round of grand jury subpoenas Thursday in a criminal investigation of the candidacy, and FBI agents have contacted Daniel J. Sullivan’s donors, the AP reported. Alaska’s Republican governor has ordered an investigation and suggested he may not certify a possible Peltola win.

On the ballot, the senator appears as “Dan S. Sullivan” with “incumbent” and “registered Republican” beside his name. The retiree appears as “Daniel J. Sullivan” with nothing beside his. He drew about 2.5% in the August primary, enough to make Tuesday’s four-way ranked-choice race, where his voters’ second choices could decide a contest that may settle control of the Senate.

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