Trump says he ordered suit to block Alaska Senate results if GOP loses

By — Geoff Bennett Geoff Bennett By — Liz Landers Liz Landers By — Doug Adams Doug Adams Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-says-he-ordered-suit-to-block-alaska-senate-results-if-gop-loses Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Audio President Trump is making a final push to help Republicans maintain control of Congress as some of the most closely watched races remain competitive. But the battle for the Senate is also playing out in court. In Alaska, the Trump administration sued to potentially block certification of the election if the Republican incumbent loses. White House correspondent Liz Landers reports. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Geoff Bennett: President Trump is making a final campaign push to help Republicans maintain control of Congress, as some of the country's most closely watched races remain competitive. But the battle for the U.S. Senate is also playing out in court. In Alaska, the Trump administration has filed a lawsuit seeking to potentially block certification of the election if the Republican incumbent loses.Our White House correspondent, Liz Landers, has been following both developments and joins us now.So, Liz, let's start in Alaska, where the Justice Department has filed this unusual lawsuit. Why is the DOJ getting involved? Liz Landers: The Department of Justice has taken a series of potentially political actions really close to Election Day now. What was filed here in Alaska is, they're trying to block the certification of the vote there, but only if the Democrat, Mary Peltola, wins and beats the incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.The issue here is that there is a-another candidate named Dan J. Sullivan, who's also on that ballot. And Republicans are worried that voters could get confused by this. But this has already been litigated by the Alaska Supreme Court, who said that Dan J. Sullivan could stay on this ballot.Department of Justice is bringing this lawsuit, they say, to protect the integrity of the Senate election there. They say in their lawsuit that the federal government could be harmed by this election certification if it is -- quote -- "tainted by a frivolous candidacy because that undermines confidence in the makeup and workings of the federal government."President Trump was asked about this earlier today. President Donald Trump: I'm the one that said do it. They have two guys run -- named Dan Sullivan running. So the Democrats put up a guy.I don't think he ever voted before. All of a sudden, he decides to run for the Senate, and his name is Dan Sullivan. One is Daniel S. One is Daniel J. The Daniel J. is the fake. Liz Landers: Daniel J. Sullivan has voted in Alaska races before, just to be clear.But I asked the former Department of Justice civil rights attorney David Becker, who's also an election expert about this, and he said this is purely a matter of state law, and the Department of Justice has no authority and no role here.He said that this kind of litigation is unprecedented to try to block the certification of an election 11 days before the vote. Geoff Bennett: The Justice Department also announced charges today against two former FBI officials over their testimony about Hunter Biden's laptop. What are they accused of doing? Liz Landers: The Department of Justice is claiming that these two FBI officials lied in congressional testimony that they gave in 2023. And this was about their involvement in a specialized foreign influence task force in these investigations into Hunter Biden's laptop and that they knew about the laptop.The attorneys for one of the former FBI officials who was charged here, Nikki Flores, said in a statement to the "News Hour" that: "The government's reasons for charging Nikki are as transparent as they are unjust to push a false narrative for a shot at political points."Hunter Biden's laptop story broke just a few weeks before the 2020 election. I'm sure you remember covering this. The laptop contained e-mails that appeared to show discussions of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings. And at the time, Democrats questioned whether that was Russian mis- and dis-information. Geoff Bennett: And so finally, with Election Day approaching, you have got some of the biggest names in politics, to include President Trump, hitting the campaign trail. Who's heading where? Liz Landers: President Trump goes to Georgia tomorrow to help in that Senate race there. Also, he's headed to Michigan on Sunday. Mike Rogers is in a tough election there, the Republican against the Democrat, Abdul El-Sayed.Also, former President Barack Obama will be in Michigan as well tomorrow campaigning with Abdul El-Sayed, and he will also be going to Ohio as well. The former president has also cut a bunch of radio ads for other downballot candidates. Geoff Bennett: Liz Landers, a busy week for you. Next week's going to be busier. Liz Landers: Indeed, yes.(LAUGHTER) Geoff Bennett: Thanks, as always. Liz Landers: Of course. Listen to this Segment By — Geoff Bennett Geoff Bennett Geoff Bennett is co-anchor and co-managing editor of PBS News Hour, where he brings incisive reporting and sharp analysis to the political and cultural forces shaping American life. @GeoffRBennett By — Liz Landers Liz Landers Liz Landers is a correspondent for PBS News Hour, where she covers the White House and the Trump administration. Prior to joining the News Hour, she served as the national security correspondent for Scripps News, and also reported on disinformation for the network. By — Doug Adams Doug Adams