Scott Kendall, an attorney who worked with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski in her 2010 and 2016 campaigns, told the BBC he was sceptical the actions described in the New York Times story broke the law.
Alaska law does not have specific good-faith requirements for candidates, Kendall explained – noting that spoiler candidates sometimes emerged in their contests.
“I freely admit there could be more facts, but I’m not going to speculate they exist,” he said.
The spectre of a federal crimes could come into play if there was potential evidence of campaign finance violations, Kendall, as well as other legal experts, told the BBC. But such evidence has not yet emerged.
Kendall believed the primary risk to Peltola from the allegations is “absolute reputational harm”.
The Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit last week aimed at preventing the certification of the result if the Trump-backed Sullivan loses, arguing the presence of both of them on the ballot could confuse voters.
On Wednesday, the justice department amended its lawsuit to include the reporting by the Times, citing significant sections of the story as well as Governor Mike Dunleavy’s announcement of an investigation.
A federal judge has expedited consideration and will weigh motions to dismiss brought by Alaska election officials and backed by the Peltola campaign and voting rights groups.
The legal action comes days before voters across the US head to the polls. This race in Alaska is among the closest-watched in the country, as it could be the deciding factor in who controls the Senate.
The non-partisan Cook Political Report currently classifies the race as a toss-up.
As the final weekend of campaigning approaches, President Donald Trump will appear at back-to-back rallies in Kansas and Iowa on Sunday.
The in-person appearances were previously cancelled, but a source familiar with planning told the BBC that they were rescheduled to accommodate remote appearances by Trump at tele-rallies.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
