# A Resurfaced Peltola Line, 'It Should Be a Criminal Offense to Lie or Mislead the Electorate,' Gets Turned on Her After the NYT Report

The NRSC posted an August clip of the Alaska Democrat after the Times reported on a namesake-candidate scheme. Fox says federal prosecutors have opened an 'aggressive criminal investigation.' Peltola's campaign denies any role.

- Section: [Politics](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/politics/)
- Published: 2026-10-30
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/resurfaced-peltola-criminal-offense-lie-mislead-electorate-nrsc-clip-doj-aggressive-criminal-investigation-second-sullivan-fox-news/

A quote from Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola is circulating among Republicans this week, and critics say it comes back on her, Fox News reports.

The clip. In footage from August, posted Wednesday by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Peltola says: "It should be a criminal offense to lie or mislead the electorate." The NRSC shared it right after the New York Times reported that her campaign took part in a plan to pull votes from Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by recruiting a candidate with the same name.

The reaction. Conservatives on social media said she should be investigated on her own terms. Townhall columnist Dustin Grage wrote, "Your terms are acceptable." Radio host Jason Rantz posted, "Turn yourself in, Mary Peltola." Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called it "ironic." Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen wrote "Agree!!!"

The investigations. Fox says it learned Wednesday that federal prosecutors are running an "aggressive criminal investigation" into how the second Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, got on Alaska's ballot, according to two sources familiar with the probe. Investigators are preparing grand jury subpoenas and looking at possible violations of voters' rights, and the work is expected to continue past Election Day. The Justice Department declined to comment. Fox also says the department has issued dozens of subpoenas in the past 24 hours, reportedly to examine whether the campaign conspired against voters' rights. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has separately told the state Department of Public Safety to look into whether Alaska law was broken.

The other view. Fox notes that some people argue the alleged actions are not illegal and are simply a "dirty trick" that campaigns sometimes use.

Peltola's answer. She has called the reporting "just another distraction" and said the Times wrote it to "sell newspapers." Her campaign continues to say the Alaskans for Mary campaign "has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign." Fox says it asked her campaign for comment on this story.

Note for readers: the quote is real but was said in August, before the Times report, and about lying to voters in general. No charge has been announced against Peltola or anyone, and the Fox account of the federal probe rests on two unnamed sources. Our earlier stories on the Times report, the governor's probe and the Chaffetz column are on the site.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/resurfaced-peltola-criminal-offense-quote-comes-back-haunt-her-after-explosive-report-turn-yourself-in)