Alaska Department of Law Confirms Former AG Sullivan Never 'Fought to Pass' Stand Your Ground

Today, Joe Miller called out Dan Sullivan for misleading Alaskans regarding his involvement in the Stand Your Ground legislation. Miller’s campaign recently submitted a Freedom of Information Act disclosure request to the Alaska Department of Law. The purpose of the request was to confirm or deny Attorney General Dan Sullivan’s claim that he “fought to pass . . . Stand Your Ground” legislation. According to the FOIA request, that claim is proved false.

“I find it deeply troubling that Dan Sullivan would run thousands of dollars of ads to mislead Alaskans about his role in the passage of legislation that he fought against,” said Miller. “This latest information proves without a doubt that Dan had nothing to do with passing Stand Your Ground.”

Assistant Attorney General Alan Birnbaum signed the FOIA response which states:

“The Alaska Department of Law received your July 3, 2014, request for records ‘exchanged between then-Attorney General Dan Sullivan and his staff’ and/or ‘Representative Mark Neuman’s office, relating to HB 381, or so-called Stand Your Ground legislation during the years 2009 and 2010.

Despite a diligent search, the Department identified no responsive paper or electronic records.”

This latest FOIA disclosure confirms what the Miller campaign has already determined – that Dan Sullivan continues to mislead Alaskans when he inflates his involvement in the Stand Your Ground legislation passage. Local progressive columnist Shannyn Moore and the nonpartisan Politifact.com also debunked Sullivan’s claims.

“In a court of law, this would be an ‘opened and closed case,’” said Miller. “As our former Attorney General, Dan Sullivan knows this. He knows the score. That’s why he’s acting like he still has a ‘duty to retreat.’”