Trump defends DOJ's Alaska Senate suit as the department appeals its dismissal

President Donald Trump on Sunday defended the Justice Department's lawsuit over Alaska's U.S. Senate race, the same day a federal judge threw it out and the department said it would appeal.

Speaking to reporters after arriving in Dubuque, Iowa, Trump called the suit "one of the most meritful things" and "voter fraud at the highest level," according to a recording of the exchange. He offered no evidence for the fraud claim before ending the exchange.

The department's amended complaint doesn't use the term voter fraud. It alleges that Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired Petersburg teacher who shares the senator's name, is on the ballot as "the result of a conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the electoral process," and that his candidacy "threatens to mislead" voters who support Sen. Dan Sullivan.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the suit Sunday, two days before the election. The department filed a one-sentence notice the same day that it will appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The notice doesn't say what the department will argue or ask the appeals court to act before Tuesday.

A reporter told Trump the suit had been called meritless by Alaska's Republican-led state government. "I haven't heard this," Trump said. "From what I heard, they're going to dismiss it only on the basis that let the federal government take over. But no, that's a very important lawsuit. That was a fraud."

Gleason's order rests on standing, the legal right to bring the case. She ruled that the department hadn't shown any order she could give that would fix the harm it alleged without exposing how Alaskans voted. She also wrote that the orders it sought, on certification, ballots and an investigation of voters' intent, involve "the time, place, and manner of Alaska's election, which are the responsibilities of the State, not the executive branch of the federal government."

The department sued Oct. 22. It wants Alaska barred from certifying the race if the senator loses but would have won had votes for Daniel J. Sullivan gone to him instead, while investigators determine whether those voters meant to pick the incumbent.

Alaska's election officials, part of a Republican administration, asked the court to toss the suit, arguing that "the United States lacks authority to intervene in state elections at all, much less in support of a favored candidate." Mary Peltola's campaign, whose aides were named in the news report the department cited, has said it "did not recruit any candidates into the race."

Certification comes weeks after Election Day, so the appeal could still be pending when the state finalizes the result. The state's election calendar sets Nov. 13 as the deadline to receive ballots mailed from within the U.S., and the target date to certify the election is Nov. 25.

The 9th Circuit handled a similar request this fall. In a California case, the Justice Department asked the court to make the state set aside about 20,000 mail ballots from people it said were likely noncitizens. A divided panel dismissed that appeal Oct. 26, saying the department hadn't given the trial judge a fair chance to rule.

A separate criminal investigation tied to Daniel J. Sullivan's candidacy continues. U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman confirmed it Friday but wouldn't say who is under investigation or which laws are at issue. No charges have been announced.

Four candidates are on Tuesday's Senate ballot: Sullivan, Peltola, Daniel J. Sullivan and Republican Gerald Heikes.