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Today a government watchdog, Americans for Public Trust, filed a Federal Election Commission complaint that alleges a weird bit of political theater in Alaska. The group says Daniel J. Sullivan — the so-called “Decoy Dan” who shares a name with U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan — worked with a liberal nonprofit called 907 Initiative through a consultant named Amber Lee. The complaint asks the FEC to investigate whether that teamwork was illegal coordination under campaign finance law.
What Americans for Public Trust alleges
Key allegations in the FEC complaint
APT says the facts fit the FEC’s three-prong test for coordinated communications. The complaint points to a campaign payment of $4,380.41 to Amber Lee Strategies for website and digital work, and it notes that 907 Initiative spent roughly $1.5 million on ads attacking Senator Dan Sullivan — including about $575,000 in the three months before the primary. APT writes that “Amber Lee Strategies’ work for the Daniel J. Sullivan campaign — and her concurrent leadership position as a board member of 907 Initiative whilst it spent significant sums of money on ads targeting her client’s primary opponent — is the third and final prong to establish coordination.”
Denials, the “decoy” backstory, and why this looks shady
907 Initiative’s executive director calls the complaint “patently false” and says Amber Lee was a board member, not an employee. Fine — titles matter — but the core question is whether the same people were helping craft campaign materials while a big outside spender ran attack ads. That is precisely the sort of trick conservatives warned about when the “Decoy Dan” stunt first hit the headlines. Courts let the Petersburg candidate stay on the ballot after earlier fights, but that doesn’t erase the smell of a canned scheme designed to confuse voters and help Democrats by splintering the GOP vote.
Why the FEC complaint matters for Alaska and campaign finance
If the FEC takes this seriously, it could open an investigation that looks at emails, invoices, ad buys, and the timing of decisions. Coordinated spending that meets the three-prong test becomes an in-kind contribution and must be reported and limited. That is not just paperwork. It is how the law prevents outside groups from secretly running the show for a candidate. Conservatives who want clean, fair elections should be the loudest voices demanding a full review. If one side can hide coordination behind a board title and a consulting invoice, the rules mean nothing.
What to watch next — and the simple ask
Watch whether the FEC dockets this complaint and whether the Daniel J. Sullivan campaign or Amber Lee Strategies produces clear records to prove there was a firewall. If there isn’t one, the public deserves to see fines or a clear rebuke. And if 907 Initiative can show it never coordinated and paid no staffer to work the campaign, then say so and show the receipts. Until then, this looks like one more example of political gamesmanship that cheats voters. Republicans should push for a fast, public answer — because election tricks are no laughing matter, even if the name on the ballot makes for a convenient punchline.
