Trump DOJ escalates probes into Alaska Senate spoiler and California noncitizen voting
Source: MS NOW · All MS NOW reports
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Summary
The segment focused on potential post-election challenges in the 2026 midterms, spotlighting the Alaska U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola. It covered allegations that Peltola's campaign recruited a namesake candidate (Dan J. Sullivan) as a spoiler, ongoing DOJ subpoenas and a lawsuit seeking to block certification if votes for the second Sullivan affect the outcome, and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy's ambiguous comments on certification. It also discussed parallel DOJ probes into alleged noncitizen voting in California, rejected efforts to set aside over 20,000 ballots, and broader concerns about GOP refusal to seat winners or pressure on election workers and FBI agents. Guests Ned Foley and former Sen. Claire McCaskill emphasized that governors have ministerial duties, local officials run elections securely, and courts would intervene against illegal orders.
Editorial Assessment
The broadcast accurately reported ongoing DOJ actions, the NYT investigation into ballot recruitment, and Dunleavy's statements, but viewers miss critical context: Alaska's Division of Elections director certifies results, not the governor, whose federal certificate role is ministerial. The 20,000-name California list has been deemed unreliable by counties, with samples showing many U.S.-born individuals and no evidence of widespread illegal voting sufficient to sway outcomes. Selective emphasis on Republican 'threats' and past Trump actions creates a perception of imminent crisis, downplaying that spoiler recruitment (while ethically questionable) is not clearly illegal per state courts and that close races have historically taken months without undermining democracy. Guest selection reinforced a narrative of GOP norm-breaking while affirming confidence in local officials, potentially skewing viewers toward viewing all federal probes as politically motivated rather than legitimate inquiries into reported coordination.
Key Moments
Peltola campaign recruited another Dan Sullivan as a spoiler candidate, prompting DOJ subpoenas and potential block on Senate certification if Sullivan narrowly loses.
NYT reporting detailed internal efforts with texts and sources; DOJ has issued dozens of grand jury subpoenas and amended its lawsuit accordingly.
Alaska governor may refuse to certify election results if under investigation for illegal acts.
Dunleavy's comments were ambiguous; state law assigns certification to Division of Elections director, governor's role is ministerial under federal law.
DOJ escalating investigation into non-citizen voting in California, seeking to set aside more than 20,000 ballots.
Courts rejected the request; county analyses found the list unreliable with high percentage of U.S.-born voters and many with no voting history.
Speaker Mike Johnson committed to peaceful transfer and seating certified members per Constitution.
Johnson explicitly stated he would follow the Constitution and swear in all certified members on Jan. 3 despite personal reservations.
FBI agents concerned they may be ordered to take legally questionable steps like seizing voting machines.
Based on anonymous current/former officials; no public evidence of such orders, and guests advised agents to refuse illegal directives.
Notable Concerns
- Heavy reliance on anonymous sources and one-sided expert commentary framing administration actions as subversion
- Missing context on legal limits of governor's certification role and flaws in the DOJ's California voter list
- Alarmist throughline linking routine investigations and close-race contingencies to threats against peaceful power transfer
Sources Consulted
- Inside Democrats’ Secret Effort to Stack Alaska’s Ballot
- Alaska Senate forecast 2026: Mary Peltola vs Dan S. Sullivan
- Alaska governor: Election certification ‘could be stopped’ due to Peltola probe
- DOJ issues new wave of subpoenas in criminal probe of Alaska Senate race
- Judge says Trump bid to set aside California ballots would ‘wreak havoc’ on democracy
- 'High percentage' of DOJ's California noncitizen voters list born in US
- Speaker Mike Johnson calls election-transfer concerns ‘absurd’
- Alaska election certification explained if Trump-backed Dan Sullivan loses