The FBI is accelerating the criminal probe into Alaska's 'decoy' candidate scandal as votes are still being tallied in the state's Senate race.
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votes → accelerate → race
Two sources familiar with the investigation told the Daily Mail that agents questioned the former campaign manager of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola on Election Day.
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agents → tell → Day
The FBI approached Elisa Rios in Chicago on Tuesday, two sources revealed.
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sources → approach → Tuesday
'Full speed ahead,' is how one source described the inquiry.
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source → describe → inquiry
Rios was allegedly involved in recruiting a Dan Sullivan who shares the name of Republican incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan in an apparent effort to confuse voters and peel away votes from the incumbent.
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who → involve → incumbent
Peltola has denied any involvement in the alleged scheme.
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Peltola → deny → scheme
She currently leads Sullivan by less than 700 votes, with 75 percent reported, according to the Associated Press.
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percent → lead → Press
A final call in the race could take weeks as Alaska votes are notoriously hard to tally due to the size and rural nature of the state.
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votes → take → state
The other 'decoy' Dan Sullivan has attracted 3,500 votes, making his candidacy potentially determinative.
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candidacy → attract → votes
There's fear among conservatives that the 'decoy' candidate could take decisive votes from the incumbent and hand Peltola a win.
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candidate → be → win
‘What they said could happen appears to be happening,’ a source familiar with the Department of Justice investigation told the Daily Mail.
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source → say → Mail
Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign and the DSCC are being investigated after a New York Times report last week found alleged they recruited a 'decoy' candidate to boost her chances of winnings Alaska's Senate seat
GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan has complained about the 'decoy' candidate who shares a name with him
Rios told the New York Times in an explosive report that Peltola 'definitely' knew about a plot with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) to find another Sullivan to increase her own chances of winning the Senate seat.
The ex-campaign manager said she departed Peltola's campaign in August as part of a larger staff shake-up, just months before the election.
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she → investigate → election
But she didn't detail the reason behind the abrupt exit.
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she → detail → exit
She was replaced by Cheryl Bruce, who had been serving as deputy campaign manager.
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who → replace → manager
The Times cited 12 sources, including text messages and documents, alleging that operatives aligned with Peltola’s campaign helped recruit Dan Sullivan 2.0.
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operatives → cite → Sullivan
Internally, the secret plan was reportedly called ‘ballot composition project.’
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plan → call → ?
Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC denied involvement, and Peltola said she ‘knew nothing’ about it.
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she → deny → it
But Rios insisted that Peltola was 'aware' of the scheme, according to her account in the Times.
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Peltola → insist → Times
A week before the Times published the report, Rios, who had been planning to file a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Peltola campaign, said she wanted to take back her previous statements.
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she → publish → statements
'I am not willing to be a source for any story in any capacity,' Rios told the Times.
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Rios → tell → capacity
Dan Sullivan 2.0 has repeatedly said he entered the race on his own and had no contact with Peltola's campaign.
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he → say → campaign
But he left his hometown two days before the Times report was published and has not been located ever since.
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report → leave → hometown
Senator Sullivan's campaign called the allegations 'the biggest election cheating scandal in the history of Alaska.'
The Dan Sullivan 2.0 has reportedly left his hometown of Petersburg last week and has not been heard of since then
The report came out after nearly one in ten registered Alaskans had already voted.
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Alaskans → call → Petersburg
Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into the Peltola campaign.
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Dunleavy → order → campaign
Even before the report, the Justice Department had sued Alaska election officials, asking a court to block certification if Sullivan lost.
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Sullivan → sue → certification
But earlier this week, a judge in Alaska threw out the DOJ's lawsuit, blocking the Trump administration's preemptive effort.
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judge → throw → effort
The Justice Department had argued that Daniel J Sullivan, whom the Trump administration dubbed 'Decoy Dan,' entered the race as a 'frivolous candidate to confuse voters.'
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administration → argue → voters
But US District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that the Trump administration lacked standing in the lawsuit, which sought to force Alaska to segregate its ballots in the event that US Senator Dan S Sullivan, a Republican, lost his reelection bid to Democratic candidate Mary Peltola.
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Sullivan → rule → Peltola
DOJ has appealed the ruling.
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DOJ → appeal → ruling
A separate House Oversight Committee investigation is also moving forward.
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investigation → move → ?
Republican-led investigators requested an in-person interview with Rios on Wednesday.
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investigators → lead → Wednesday
'If you do not voluntarily appear for the interview, we will be forced to evaluate the use of compulsory process,' the committee warned.
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committee → appear → process
But a committee source told the Daily Mail that the transcribed interview is not expected to occur this week anymore and that the committee is in communication with Rios' attorney and lawyers for the second Dan Sullivan.
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committee → tell → Sullivan
Rios did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
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Rios → respond → comment
The Peltola campaign was contacted regarding the FBI's contact with Rios.
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campaign → contact → Rios
The heated midterm battle remains on a knife-edge as its outcome is still unclear after election day.
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outcome → remain → day
While both candidates are hesitant to claim the race for themselves just yet, both have expressed confidence after around 75 percent of votes have already trickled in.
Sullivan, closely behind Peltola, is confident he will win and called the early vote returns 'promising.'
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he → claim → returns
Peltola, on the other side, said she is looking forward to take 'our state back' herself.
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she → say → state
Alaska's Senate race has turned into one of the nation's most controversial midterm battles
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race → turn → battles
The Aporia
