Trump administration accelerates criminal probe into Alaska Senate race
AI generated
WASHINGTON/ANCHORAGE - US President Donald Trump’s administration stepped up criminal and civil investigations into allegations that Democrats conspired to recruit a spoiler candidate in a critical Senate race in Alaska, US officials said on Oct 30, injecting fresh uncertainty into Nov 3’s congressional midterm election.
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officials → accelerate → election
The Justice Department’s top prosecutor in Alaska, US Attorney Michael Heyman, said at a press conference that a New York Times article on Oct 28 about the effort had driven a “surge” of FBI resources, adding that he had assigned several prosecutors to the case and that investigative steps were taking place “intensely and swiftly.”
“Every Alaskan deserves a fair election, and they’re going to get one,” he said.
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he → say → one
“Anyone who tries to illegally deceive voters and interfere with the election, they’ll answer for it.”
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they → try → it
Separately, the department on Oct 30 asked a federal judge to block Alaska from certifying the election results if the Republican incumbent, Dan Sullivan, loses due to the presence of a third candidate, also named Daniel Sullivan.
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incumbent → ask → candidate
The contest between Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola is widely seen as one of the few Senate races that could sway control of the chamber on Nov 3.
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that → see → Nov
A record 48 million people have cast early ballots, more than any other midterm election in US history, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab, with even the American-born Pope Leo casting a ballot by mail.
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people → cast → mail
If Democrats take one or both chambers of Congress, they intend to launch investigations into Trump’s administration and increase pressure on the president to end the war against Iran.
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they → take → Iran
Key path for Democrats
If Democrats cannot flip the seat, their path to a majority narrows considerably, with the party needing to win at least two other races in mostly Republican states such as Ohio, Texas, Iowa and Kansas.
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party → flip → Ohio
Trump’s fellow Republicans are likely to lose their slim majority in the US House of Representatives, according to nonpartisan analysts.
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Republicans → lose → analysts
The New York Times this week reported that staffers from the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Party’s Senate campaign arm helped recruit a retired teacher living in a remote fishing village who is named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr to appear on the ballot.
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who → report → ballot
Reuters has not been able to independently confirm the Times’ reporting.
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Reuters → confirm → reporting
Peltola has denied knowing about any effort to recruit the second Dan Sullivan, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has also denied involvement.
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Committee → deny → involvement
Sullivan, the retired teacher, has denied coordinating with Peltola’s campaign.
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Sullivan → retire → campaign
It is not clear what, if any, laws may have been broken; both parties have engaged in “ballot stacking” by propping up lesser-known candidates to siphon votes from their opponents.
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parties → break → opponents
Trump has called for Peltola to be prosecuted.
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Peltola → call → ?
Heyman declined to offer specifics when asked what possible crimes were being examined, saying he would let the investigation proceed.
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investigation → decline → specifics
He also said the probe had been ongoing for months and that the Times report had added urgency to the investigation, but did not explain how.
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report → say → investigation
Peltola’s campaign has asked a judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit, arguing it has no legal basis.
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it → ask → basis
The Justice Department has also pushed forward a legal case in California, issuing subpoenas to election officials as part of a criminal probe into alleged voting by non-citizens, according to copies of documents seen by Reuters.
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Department → push → Reuters
A US appeals court on Oct 30 rejected the department’s request to temporarily block California from counting any mail ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters who the Trump administration alleges are likely noncitizens, the second time the court has done so this week.
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court → reject → voters
A lower court judge had already denied the administration’s request, finding it would potentially disenfranchise thousands of legal voters.
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it → deny → voters
California officials have said the Justice Department’s assertions relied on suspect data.
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assertions → say → data
The administration’s legal moves represent an extraordinary federal intervention in state-run elections, which are administered locally under the US Constitution.
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which → represent → Constitution
Election officials around the country have told Reuters they are bracing for further legal challenges from Washington.
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they → tell → Washington
Trump has long sought to sow distrust of election results, falsely claiming for years that his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud.
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loss → seek → fraud
Voter fraud in the US is extremely rare, studies and investigations have found.
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studies → find → US
The president will campaign on Oct 30 in Florida, the latest in a series of rallies he has headlined in states he won handily in 2024 but where Democrats are now competitive, as he tries to stave off Republican losses on Nov 3.
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he → campaign → Nov
Trump said on Oct 30 he would attend weekend rallies in Iowa and Kansas after all, a day after cancelling them, telling reporters at the White House that Republicans in those states had called him and asked him to reconsider.
Former Vice-President Kamala Harris, whom Trump defeated in the 2024 election, will rally for Democrats in Atlanta on Oct 30.
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Trump → say → Oct
The Aporia
