Donald Trump has personally acknowledged ordering an extraordinary federal lawsuit that could prevent Alaska from certifying a Democratic victory in one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races.
And the timing is impossible to ignore.
With the November 3 midterm elections just days away, the Justice Department has taken legal action over a ballot dispute involving Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and his Democratic challenger, former Rep. Mary Peltola.
The lawsuit seeks to stop Alaska from certifying the election if Sullivan loses under circumstances in which votes cast for another candidate with a nearly identical name might have changed the outcome.
On Friday, Trump made clear that the decision came directly from him.
“I’m the one that said do it,” the president told reporters before a campaign rally in Florida.
The dispute centers on Daniel J. Sullivan, a lesser-known candidate who shares a name with the Republican incumbent, Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan.
Republicans contend that the second Sullivan’s candidacy is designed to confuse voters and draw support away from the senator, potentially helping Peltola win.
The second Sullivan has denied that he is working with Democrats or deliberately attempting to mislead voters.
Alaska’s election officials previously tried to remove him from the ballot, but the state’s courts rejected that effort. The Alaska Supreme Court ultimately allowed his candidacy to proceed.
That should have settled the question of whether he could appear on the ballot.
Instead, Trump’s Justice Department has now opened a new legal battle over what could happen after voters cast their ballots.
The administration argues that certifying an election affected by confusion between the two candidates would undermine the integrity of the process.
Its lawsuit asks a federal court to prevent certification if the incumbent loses and an investigation could establish that mistaken votes for the other Sullivan changed the outcome.
In other words, the administration is seeking a legal mechanism to delay the formal recognition of a potential Democratic victory.
That is a remarkable step before the election has even taken place.
Peltola, a Yup’ik Alaska Native and former congresswoman, is mounting a competitive campaign in a state that has repeatedly supported Trump in presidential elections.
Her candidacy has attracted national attention because a Democratic victory could help determine control of the Senate.
The Justice Department’s intervention comes as both parties prepare for what could be a narrow result.
But legal experts are questioning whether the federal government has the authority it claims.
Derek Muller, an election law professor at Notre Dame, told the Associated Press that the federal statute cited by the administration does not authorize the Justice Department to stop election certification.
“The statute simply doesn’t let the Department of Justice enjoin certification,” Muller said.
He predicted that the lawsuit could become irrelevant if Peltola wins comfortably or Sullivan wins outright. If the dispute reaches the court after a close Democratic victory, Muller said he expects the case to be dismissed.
There is another complication for the administration’s argument.
Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank multiple candidates rather than select only one. That system could reduce the impact of confusion between candidates with similar names.
In August’s nonpartisan primary, the second Sullivan received 4,107 votes, roughly 2 percent of the total.
Those votes are central to the administration’s theory, but determining after an election which candidate an individual voter actually intended to support would be extraordinarily difficult.
Democrats have condemned the lawsuit as an attempt to interfere with a potential Peltola victory.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee accused Trump of preparing to challenge the will of Alaska voters if the Republican incumbent loses.
The Justice Department rejects that characterization, insisting that it is acting to protect election integrity.
No court has granted the requested restriction, and the lawsuit does not automatically invalidate a Peltola victory.
Still, the stakes are unmistakable.
A sitting president has acknowledged directing his Justice Department to pursue a lawsuit that could delay certification of a Senate election if his party loses under specified conditions.
And he did so before a single general-election ballot had been counted.
For voters in Alaska, the question is no longer just whether Mary Peltola can defeat Dan Sullivan.
It is also whether the winner will face a federal legal challenge before the result can be officially certified.
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Well here you see it again – Satan (and his Vice Regent on Earth Donald “Chump” Trump) will think anything say anything and do anything in the Cause of Evil Obfuscation Obstruction and Destruction! Amen?