Justice Department Sends Target Letters to Democrats in Alaska Ballot Probe
About 20 letters went out in the days before the election, and Democratic lawyer Marc Elias says he is a target of what he calls a sham investigation.
Marc Elias, one of the best-known Democratic election lawyers in the country, is a target of a Justice Department criminal investigation in Alaska, according to two sources who confirmed it to CBS News. Investigators are examining whether Democrats tried to confuse voters by recruiting an independent candidate who shares a name with Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
About 20 target and preservation letters have been issued, and Elias is one of several recipients. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee received a grand jury subpoena. The probe is run by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Alaska, with prosecutors from the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division. Prosecutors have not said which crimes they are investigating. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller suggested on Fox News that 18 U.S.C. § 241, a civil rights conspiracy statute, could apply.
The letters and subpoenas went out in the final days before the election. That appears to conflict with Justice Department guidelines and long-standing norms that discourage overt investigative steps close to a vote. CBS reported that Brandon Wrobleski, the acting criminal chief of the Civil Rights Division, sought to recruit assistant U.S. attorneys in Alaska, and that some declined or voiced discomfort.
Elias fired back. He said the administration has "weaponized the DOJ" against its political enemies and that his firm "proudly" counts itself among President Trump's opponents. He called the probe "a sham investigation" and said his team will keep working for its clients. His firm has been involved in more than 90 voting and election lawsuits, including dozens fighting Justice Department efforts to obtain unredacted voter rolls.
The investigation centers on Daniel J. Sullivan, an independent who appeared on the ballot in the Senate race between Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola. Last week, court-appointed U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman disclosed a probe into whether operatives for Peltola helped recruit him. A New York Times report on October 28 said Peltola campaign lawyers and senior DSCC aides were involved. Heyman said the new information caused a "significant surge of law enforcement assets" to Alaska, and he denied escalating the case to time it around the election. Peltola's campaign and the DSCC deny any connection.
CBS noted that ballot-stacking tactics have been used by both parties and are generally considered controversial but not illegal. Trump has called the second-Sullivan effort a "fraud" and a "Democrat con job," blaming Sen. Charles Schumer and Elias, and said "they should be held criminally responsible."
The Alaska case is the latest in a run of politically charged Justice Department actions. A federal judge on Sunday dismissed a department lawsuit that sought to block certification of the Senate results if Sullivan lost, finding it lacked standing. A magistrate judge also dismissed a complaint against two former senior FBI officials, finding no probable cause and describing the case as apparently political and timed to the midterms. A grand jury declined to indict Cassidy Hutchinson over her January 6 testimony.
