The Justice Department increased investigative resources in Alaska after new allegations of voter deception prompted a broader criminal inquiry ahead of the election, the U.S. attorney for Alaska said.
The investigation had been underway for several months before recent reporting brought additional information. The attorney outlined the steps at a departmental press conference carried by Fox Business on Oct. 30.
The attorney took charge locally after the department rescinded a recusal the previous day. The attorney had held the position since late February 2025 but had previously stayed out of the matters under investigation.
Federal investigators and Alaska State Troopers were working together to protect voters' choices. The attorney encouraged Alaskans to cast ballots for their intended candidates.
The department was examining allegations reported by the New York Times that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee helped recruit and support Daniel J. Sullivan as a sham candidate to deceive voters.
The attorney assigned several prosecutors to assist with the investigation, while law enforcement personnel around the country were taking investigative steps. Those prosecutors continued handling cases involving fentanyl trafficking and child exploitation.
The attorney declined to identify investigative targets or describe the steps underway, citing the need to protect both the inquiry and people who might face investigation.
A separate civil case seeks to preserve ballots while the criminal investigation proceeds. The department filed that lawsuit the previous week under the National Voter Registration Act and later added a constitutional claim.
Preserving the ballots would allow Alaska to determine whether voters were misled and whether votes for Daniel J. Sullivan could have changed the election's outcome.
“The department is not asking the court to declare a winner or loser or change the votes in any way,” the attorney said.
The department planned to file a response to a dismissal motion and request a preliminary injunction, a temporary court order, within about an hour. It would also seek expedited evidence gathering by Monday.
Investigators had received new information over roughly the preceding 24 hours. The FBI's Anchorage field office encouraged people with information to contact the bureau, including through tips.fbi.gov.
The attorney later explained that the recusal concerned consideration for a judicial nomination. The White House had nominated someone else, removing the circumstances behind the recusal, and the attorney denied discussing the complaints with the White House.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bradley had led the local investigation for several months. Secrecy rules restricted the sharing of information from the criminal inquiry with investigators handling the civil case.
The attorney declined to identify possible criminal charges, assess the newspaper's allegations or explain the lawsuit's legal basis in detail. The attorney expected the court to address much of the legal dispute within roughly a week.
“I'm not making any assumptions on whether a crime has been committed or not,” the attorney said.
