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Blanche Defends DOJ Lawsuit Blocking Alaska Senate Certification
· Confirmed
In Short: Attorney General Todd Blanche defends the Justice Department's lawsuit aimed at blocking Alaska's Senate election certification over alleged voter confusion.
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Department of Justice’s decision to file a lawsuit aimed at blocking the certification of Alaska’s Senate election results, citing concerns over voter disenfranchisement.
Blanche stated during an interview that he would not discuss any communications with President Donald Trump, emphasizing the confidentiality of their interactions.
President Trump acknowledged directing the DOJ to file the lawsuit, an unusual level of presidential involvement in an active legal challenge to an election outcome.
The lawsuit centers on allegations that a candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan’s votes might have been confused with another candidate, potentially invalidating the election results.
Blanche argued that Alaskans risk having their votes nullified by the confusion, and the lawsuit seeks to ensure that only Alaska’s governing officials have the information necessary to determine voter intent.
Election experts, however, maintain that the legal claim is weak and politically motivated.
Professor Richard H. Pildes of New York University described the lawsuit as one of the weakest election lawsuits he has ever seen.
Michael Morley, a law professor at Florida State University, called the DOJ’s lawsuit completely meritless.
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski criticized the lawsuit, stating that Alaskans don’t need any help voting for their preferred candidates and that the state has already handled the ballot process.
The lawsuit was filed late Thursday in federal court in Alaska, citing the National Voter Registration Act, and seeks certification to be blocked after the election until the government investigates voter intent.
The Department of Justice has not clarified how such a determination could be made given the secret nature of the ballot.
Despite the legal challenges, Blanche maintained that the administration’s position was to protect voter rights and prevent confusion.
What's confirmed
- Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Department of Justice’s decision to file a lawsuit aimed at blocking the certification of Alaska’s Senate election results, citing concerns over voter disenfranchisement.
- Blanche stated during an interview that he would not discuss any communications with President Donald Trump, emphasizing the confidentiality of their interactions.
- President Trump acknowledged directing the DOJ to file the lawsuit, an unusual level of presidential involvement in an active legal challenge to an election outcome.
- The lawsuit centers on allegations that a candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan’s votes might have been confused with another candidate, potentially invalidating the election results.
- Blanche argued that Alaskans risk having their votes nullified by the confusion, and the lawsuit seeks to ensure that only Alaska’s governing officials have the information necessary to determine voter intent.
- Election experts, however, maintain that the legal claim is weak and politically motivated.
- Professor Richard H. Pildes of New York University described the lawsuit as one of the weakest election lawsuits he has ever seen.
- Michael Morley, a law professor at Florida State University, called the DOJ’s lawsuit completely meritless.
- Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski criticized the lawsuit, stating that Alaskans don’t need any help voting for their preferred candidates and that the state has already handled the ballot process.
- The lawsuit was filed late Thursday in federal court in Alaska, citing the National Voter Registration Act, and seeks certification to be blocked after the election until the government investigates voter intent.
- The Department of Justice has not clarified how such a determination could be made given the secret nature of the ballot.
- Despite the legal challenges, Blanche maintained that the administration’s position was to protect voter rights and prevent confusion.
What's still developing
- The DOJ is asking the court to block certification in any scenario where, had all votes cast for Daniel J.
- “I will never talk about any communications I have with the president of the United States,” he said, refusing to elaborate further on the directive.
- Despite Trump’s public acknowledgment that he directed the lawsuit, Blanche declined to confirm whether the president had specifically instructed him to pursue the case when pressed by CNN host Dana Bash.
- Blanche cited the confidentiality of his communications with the president as his reason for not directly answering, drawing a firm line around his interactions with the White House.
- Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy refuses to withdrawal an explosive attack ad, and President Trump greenlights the DOJ to file a lawsuit about Alaska's senate race.
- SIMON: Legal documents from nearly 50 years ago show that Amy Acton, then 12, and her younger brother were removed from their mother's home following their stepfather's arrest.
- US attorney general calls CNN ‘crazy’ for suggesting Trump’s attempt to overturn election could lead to January 6 repeat Sign up for The Stakes 2026: your weekly guide to the US midterms US attorney general calls CNN ‘crazy’ for suggesting Trump’s attempt to overturn election could lead to January 6 repeat Sign up for The Stakes 2026: your weekly guide to the US midterms Todd Blanche, Donald Trump ’s attorney general, lashed out during an interview on Sunday while defending the justice department’s pre-emptive lawsuit to block certification of Alaska ’s US Senate results if the GOP incumbent loses, calling a TV host’s question “crazy”.
- The lawsuit, Becker said, “raises serious concerns about political interference” and that he could not remember “ever attempting to stop the certification of an election – and certainly not 11 days before polls close”.
- “The legal claim is so absurdly thin, there’s essentially no likelihood of success,” said Derek Mueller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, in a blogpost.
- Another expert, David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, said this suit marked “an unprecedented intervention by the federal government” and noted that Alaska’s courts had “fully litigated” this issue.
- “You described facts that were just simply either at best misleading, but really a lie to your viewers.” While Trump’s DoJ has claimed there might be “voter confusion” on Alaskan ballots, potentially propelling Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola to victory, election experts maintain that this position is legally weak.
- “It’s a free country,” he said at the time, according to Courthouse News Service.