Senator Ron Johnson calls for preservation of records in alleged Alaska election plot

Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin and chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent document preservation requests to people cited in a New York Times report on the so-called 'Decoy Dan' case in Alaska. In an interview with the Fox Business channel, he stated that the letter is simple: do not destroy records and do not obstruct justice.

According to the senator, the main names involved are Jared Kurtz, described by the newspaper as a Democratic operative presented as an expert in secret ballot maneuvers; Anton McFarland, who was Mary Peltola's chief of staff at one time; and Alisa Rios, who appears as the main source of the New York Times investigation.

What the senator claims

Johnson said the case came to light in the summer of this year and that, at the time, he asked the Washington press to question Democratic leader Chuck Schumer about the matter. According to him, there was a denial of involvement. The senator praised the New York Times for publishing the report.

In Johnson's assessment, the text shows operatives from the Democratic Senatorial Committee (DSCC) working with lawyers and Peltola's campaign to, in his words, confuse and defraud Alaska voters. He also cited an excerpt in which participants attend a discussion group and make fun of the state's residents. Johnson urged Alaskans to vote for Sen. Dan Sullivan, running for re-election, in response.

Investigations and limits

Asked whether he would also reach out to the president of the DSCC, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Johnson did not give a direct answer. He recalled that Senator Bernie Moreno requested an investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee and that the Department of Justice is investigating the case. He said he is not a lawyer or prosecutor and does not know which campaign laws were violated, but said that coordination between political action committees and campaigns is illegal, and that the report suggests that this occurred.

Johnson indicated that, from his point of view, the Senate investigations will only move forward after Tuesday's election. He acknowledged that the Justice Department has much greater investigative powers and that it may already be analyzing evidence and hearing from people.

Contests and what comes now

The presenter recalled that Alisa Rios approached the New York Times to withdraw statements and say that she no longer wanted to cooperate, and that Democrats accuse the Department of Justice of political use. Johnson responded that the paper presents evidence of coordination and that the Peltola campaign and the DSCC, which deny involvement, were lying to the public.

Regarding the possibility of Peltola winning, he said that it will be necessary to see how the dispute unfolds, without saying whether she should be inaugurated. Coverage continues until Tuesday, when Alaska voters decide the Senate seat. For investors, the episode adds political uncertainty to an election that could influence the composition of the Senate, a factor monitored by the market on topics such as fiscal and energy policy.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.