By Devlin Barrett and Kellen Browning via The New York Times:

‘The Trump administration has asked a federal court to block certification of the Senate election in Alaska if the Republican incumbent narrowly loses, a highly unusual move that signaled an effort to potentially intervene in the outcome.

President Trump made clear on Friday that he had demanded the lawsuit, acknowledging how directly he has harnessed the Justice Department to carry out his wishes. “I’m the one that said do it,” he told reporters.

The Justice Department, in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Alaska on Thursday, argued that confusion over a candidate on the ballot with a name very similar to that of the incumbent, Senator Dan S. Sullivan, could taint the election result.

Polls show that the senator is in a close race against Mary Peltola, a Democrat. However, the four-person ballot also includes Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., and does not list any party registration. The senator’s line on the state ballot describes him as the incumbent.…’