Trump says he thinks US attorney general has ‘a legal case’ against Petersburg’s Dan Sullivan

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - President Donald Trump said he thinks U.S. Attorney General “has a legal case” to investigate the Petersburg Dan Sullivan, a man running for the U.S. Senate seat held by the incumbent with the same name, with the president arguing Sullivan’s candidacy “should be illegal.”

“They have a man named Dan Sullivan running against him, the Democrats,” Trump told the U.S. Attorney General in the Rose Garden, Wednesday. “I think, Todd, you have a legal case on that.”

Trump’s public acknowledgement of an investigation follows reporting by NBC News, citing anonymous sources, saying the DOJ is investigating the man and has issued grand jury subpoenas as part of a federal probe.

Blanche could neither confirm nor deny an investigation in a July interview with Alaska’s News Source, when he was the acting attorney general.

“I’ve read it just like everybody else has,” Blanche said. “I can’t talk about any investigations or even the existence of investigations, but all I can say is that yes, we - I’ve read the reports like a lot of Alaskans have and I can’t comment beyond that.

“Nobody should be caught talking about ongoing investigations whether they exist or not. I mean, that’s not fair to the process.”

Blanche has asserted his role in the DOJ is not to be independent of the president and will factor his opinion into prosecutions.

What Trump thinks Sullivan should be investigated for was something he did not elaborate on.

“He actually got 2.5 or 3 points in the race, and he qualified for the finals,” the president said. “So, let’s say he takes 2 or 3 points away — that’s the difference between winning and losing.”

Petersburg’s Dan Sullivan said in a message to Alaska’s News Source that the DOJ has not contacted him. On Wednesday, Sullivan did not provide a statement on the president’s claims that he was recruited by democrats but said he would reach out if he decided to comment.

Dan J. Sullivan entered the race at the end of May and was removed from the ballot by the elections division on June 15. The elections division said he was trying to confuse voters, something he has denied. That case went to a Superior Court and the State Supreme Court. In both cases, the courts sided with the Petersburg Sullivan, ultimately reinstating the candidate on the ballot — one day before the state’s deadline to print ballots.

Trump bashed that decision.

“I don’t know how the judges are ruling it, but it really is terrible,” he said.

Primary results show Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, is trailing behind former Democratic congresswoman Mary Peltola. She received 49.54% of the vote to his 41.40%, according to official election results.

Dan J. Sullivan received 2.47%. Despite not being a winning margin, the president told reporters Wednesday that it could jeopardize the race.

“That guy [Dan J. Sullivan] got 2.5% in the recent primary, and that’s — 2.5% is a lot when it comes to winning elections,” Trump said. “And it’s a disgrace. They went to the court, and the court made it a little bit easier, they put an initial or something on the one that — but it’s very unfair.

Alaska’s News Source reached out to Sen. Sullivan’s campaign for comment Thursday, which has not been returned as of publication. Sullivan was unable to comment on the topic during an Alaska broadband roundtable, which was not a campaign event.

Trump pledged Wednesday he would visit Alaska to stump for Sen. Dan Sullivan.

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