Trump calls for prosecution of Alaska Senate candidate

President Donald Trump called on Wednesday for the criminal prosecution of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola in Alaska. The call for action followed a report that Peltola's campaign discussed recruiting a third-party candidate with the same name as the Republican incumbent.

The race is one of the few Senate contests expected to determine control of the chamber. Trump had previously directed the Department of Justice to sue to block certification of the race if Peltola were to defeat Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. The president stated his position clearly in response to questions about the New York Times report. "I think they should be prosecuted," Trump said about Peltola and the other Sullivan. He had earlier posted on social media that Peltola should suffer the legal and political consequences for her actions.

The New York Times obtained text messages between members of Peltola's campaign. The texts discussed recruiting individuals with the same name as the two-term Republican senator. The campaign eventually selected a retired schoolteacher from the fishing community of Petersburg named Dan J. Sullivan. He passed the state's August open primary and appears on the ranked vote ballot for the general election next Tuesday.

Dan J. Sullivan has long denied running at the behest of Democrats. He said he had no contact with Peltola's campaign in June after announcing his run. "Zero, none, zilch," he said regarding his communications. He did not respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday from The Associated Press. Peltola's campaign issued a statement saying Mary got in the race because Alaskans deserve a champion fighting to lower costs. The statement added that no tweet or threat from a DC politician will keep her away from that fight.

Peltola suggested the newspaper report was a distraction during a campaign stop in Soldotna. She pointed to issues such as Sen. Sullivan's support of the war in Iran. "This is just another diversion," she said in a video posted online. "This is all stuff to sell newspapers. This is all stuff to get subscriptions."

A top state elections official had ruled Dan J. Sullivan ineligible for the primary ballot earlier this year. The official concluded his candidacy was filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead voters. The case went to the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled he was qualified to run. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who endorsed Sullivan and is a friend of Peltola, criticized Peltola in a statement. She said Alaskans deserve the honest truth and that the revelations show a pattern of lies and coverups.

Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Sullivan, said Peltola and her advisers colluded with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and national lawyers. He claimed they recruited candidates to deliberately confuse voters. Peltola's campaign stated it has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Democrats, including the DSCC, have repeatedly denied involvement in any campaign trick. The DSCC stated Wednesday that it is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan, despite the Times report saying staffers were on texts with the Peltola campaign.

Legal experts said the report will not impact a recent lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice. The lawsuit seeks to halt certification of a possible Peltola win, citing the second Dan Sullivan on the ballot. Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, called it a dirty campaign trick. He noted that it is now in the hands of voters, not litigation. More than 61,000 ballots had been cast in Alaska through Tuesday. Sen. Sullivan is listed as the Republican incumbent. The other candidate is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. with no party affiliation.