DOJ Sends Target Letters to About 20 Democrats in Alaska Senate Ballot Name Probe

The Justice Department has sent target or preservation letters to about 20 people, including Democratic elections lawyer Marc Elias, in a criminal investigation into whether Democrats recruited a candidate with the same name as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, sources told CBS News and the New York Times, which reported it on Election Day, Tuesday. At least one official at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also received a letter, and the committee separately received a grand jury subpoena, a law enforcement source said. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Alaska is leading the probe with prosecutors from the Civil Rights Division's criminal section. The Times' source said investigators are also looking at possible donor fraud and conspiracy charges. Elias's firm represents Democratic nominee Mary Peltola, who is challenging Sullivan. President Trump told Fox & Friends that Elias "should go to jail." On Sunday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed a separate Justice Department civil suit over the two Dan Sullivans on the ballot, ruling the government lacked standing, and the department filed a notice of appeal.

Left-leaning outlets CBS News and The New Republic lead with the political context. CBS quotes Elias saying the administration has weaponized the DOJ against Trump's enemies, while The New Republic's headline says the probe came right before the election, and it details Trump's attacks on Elias and Chuck Schumer and his Truth Social posts suggesting the independent Sullivan was kidnapped. Right-leaning outlets agree on the core facts: roughly 20 letters, Elias, a DSCC official, and the donor fraud and conspiracy angle. The Washington Examiner stresses the "decoy" candidacy, notes Peltola's campaign paid Elias's firm up to $150,000, and points out that Elias's reply did not address the recruitment allegation. Fox News focuses on the failed civil suit and legal experts who called the appeal a heavy lift, saying the criminal probe could continue regardless. CNBC, in the alternative group, features a Legal Defense Fund counsel who called the threats a danger to democracy.