US Attorney General says government will not stop battle over alleged vote manipulation in Alaska
Todd Blanche says the Justice Department will appeal the decision that blocked the action and wants to preserve the ballots from the Senate race, according to Fox Business
BY THE X-TRADER NEWS NEWSROOM · REPORTING FROM FOX BUSINESS · 3 MIN
United States Attorney General Todd Blanche said the federal government will not stop its offensive over alleged vote rigging in Alaska's Senate election, even after a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit. The statement was made on the program "The Story", shown on Fox Business.
According to Blanche, the judge's decision was based solely on procedural issues. He said that the judge did not disagree with the central thesis of the action, that there was fraud against Alaska voters. The Department of Justice (DOJ) will appeal and, according to the attorney general, will evaluate the next steps after Election Day.
The dispute and accusations
The race pits Republican Senator Dan Sullivan against Democrat Mary Peltola. According to presenter Martha MacCallum, there is yet another candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, who barely campaigned and is at the center of the controversy. He appears on the ballot right after the so-called "bait candidate", in the presenter's words. The last polling places close at 1 a.m. Eastern Time.
The presenter cited a report from the "New York Times" according to which Democrats had recruited this second Sullivan, on the right, to confuse voters. Peltola denies any involvement. The same report, according to the presenter, mentions target letters sent by the DOJ, suspicions of fraud with donors and conspiracy, in addition to 120 subpoenas in total.
Blanche refused to confirm the letters, claiming that this is an ongoing investigation and that this would not be fair to the process or those involved. He simply said that the situation is "extraordinarily difficult and sad" and stated that President Donald Trump had been talking about the issue for months, without the national press becoming interested until the publication of the newspaper, about a week earlier.
What the government asks for
According to the attorney general, the action does not intend for the federal government to take over Alaska's electoral system. The goal is to preserve the ballots so that state authorities can, if necessary, assess whether there was confusion that produced an unfair result. He maintained that this is legal under state law, which does not allow for fraud to influence an election.
Alaska has around 14 days to certify the result, according to the presenter. Blanche said that, because of ranked choice voting, there are scenarios in which the current senator could lose without, in fact, having lost, if it is proven that voters were misled. He admitted that it is not yet known what voters will do or what the outcome will be.
Monitors in 50 states
Blanche said the DOJ does not take away states' rights to confirm their senators or conduct elections, and that it acts based on the Constitution and federal laws. He also said that there are a thousand monitors in 50 states, compared to around 27 states in the previous election, according to the presenter.
Asked about a video by Bruce Springsteen asking electoral authorities not to accept directives against the right to free elections, the attorney general responded that he did not know what the singer was talking about and that the agency's work only ensures compliance with federal law.
Effects on the market
The transcript does not contain numbers or economic projections. For investors, the episode is yet another element of political uncertainty, as a possible challenge to the result in Alaska could prolong the uncertainty over the composition of the American Senate. The effects on stock markets, interest rates and the dollar will depend on developments that are not yet known.
Automatically translated from Portuguese.
