THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- Former Justice Department official John Yoo called for a federal investigation into reported coordination involving Mary Peltola’s team, Democratic Senate officials and outside political groups.
- Yoo identified potential campaign-finance, reporting and fraud issues, and raised a conditional obstruction concern over an aide’s reported retraction.
- Gov. Mike Dunleavy separately ordered Alaska’s Department of Public Safety to investigate whether the candidate-recruitment operation violated state law.
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
Alaska’s second-Dan-Sullivan controversy now has a former Justice Department official recommending lawyers and a governor ordering investigators.
John Yoo, a former deputy assistant attorney general, said Wednesday that the reported effort involving Democrat Mary Peltola’s team to recruit spoiler candidates could raise federal criminal and campaign-finance questions. Later that night, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation.
The campaign calendar says November. The damage-control calendar appears considerably more crowded.
Appearing with John Roberts on Fox News’ “America Reports,” Yoo urged the Justice Department to investigate the campaign, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and political groups involved in the reported coordination.
“But it’s not just dirty tricks; there could be violations of federal law here,” he said.
Yoo pointed to possible improper coordination and inaccurate campaign reports.
“They could have committed mail and wire fraud,” he added.
The underlying New York Times investigation, described by Reuters and Alaska Public Media, reported that Peltola aides worked with campaign lawyers and Democratic Senate campaign officials on recruiting candidates who could draw support from Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.
One resulting candidate is Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg. A convenient name to encounter when your political project involves finding people named Dan Sullivan.
Former campaign manager Elisa Rios told the Times that Peltola knew about the effort but was not directly involved. The report also described broader recruitment efforts and an effort to persuade Democrat David Leslie to withdraw, opening a general-election position for Gerald Heikes.
Yoo also addressed Rios’s reported attempt to retract her account. He argued that pressure to withdraw testimony could create obstruction exposure if it occurred during a federal investigation.
Dunleavy’s announcement supplied a separate, concrete development: a directive to state investigators to determine whether Alaska law was violated and whether criminal charges or civil action were warranted.
The governor said voters have a right to support the candidate they actually intend to choose. An election should not require a name-matching exercise worthy of an airport security checkpoint.
Peltola’s campaign denies involvement with either Sullivan campaign, and the DSCC denies involvement in recruiting the second Sullivan. The Petersburg candidate has also maintained that he entered independently.
There is disagreement over the legal implications. Attorney Libby Bakalar, who previously represented Alaska’s Division of Elections, told Alaska Public Media that strategic candidate recruitment is permitted under the state’s open ballot-access system.
The reported coordination, financing and disclosures are the conduct Yoo wants examined. Dunleavy has now put the state-law questions in investigators’ hands, just days before the November 3 election.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- Mediaite — Yoo’s remarks on possible federal violations and conditional obstruction concerns
- Fox News — John Yoo’s “America Reports” appearance
- Reuters — Reported recruitment operation, Rios’s account and Democratic responses
- Alaska Public Media — Campaign denials and competing legal assessments
- Juneau Independent — Dunleavy orders state investigation
- Daily BS related: Secret scheme to sabotage GOP senator revealed after Democrat denied involvement: Report
- Daily BS related: Trump says he ordered DOJ to sue Alaska over “fake” Dan Sullivan
