[Just The News] Akey Russiagate lawyer known for his bare-knuckle election and legal tactics has landed at the center of the alleged Democrat plot in the Alaska Senate race to recruit a decoy candidate to siphon votes from their Republican opponent.Marc Elias departed from the Perkins Coie law firm in 2021 and set up his own firm, catering to Democratic Party candidates. About the same time, the Justice Department was investigating its role in the Steele Dossier and its Trump-Russia collusion allegations, and he could face questions about the role his law firm played in representing multiple participants in the alleged scheme to recruit the candidate known as "Decoy Dan" in the Alaska race and whether there was any illegal coordination under federal election law.
Elias and his firm, Elias Law Group, were named in the explosive pre-election New York Times report on how campaign officials for Alaska's Democratic senatorial candidate Mary Peltola coordinated with Democratic operatives and aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to recruit the decoy, Daniel J. Sullivan, whose name is nearly identical to incumbent GOP Senator Dan S. Sullivan.
Still too close to call
The Senate race, which remains too close to call as election officials count ballots in the state’s more complicated ranked-choice voting system, has become the center of legal challenges and a possible criminal investigation related to the purported decoy candidacy.
The Justice Department escalated its probe into the purported scheme on Election Day, reportedly warning roughly 20 Democrats in writing that they may be investigative targets. Marc Elias as well as at least one Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee official were notified. A target letter signals that prosecutors view the recipient as a likely defendant, but it does not guarantee charges will be filed.