Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor hasn’t officially declared his candidacy for governor, but his actions tell a different story.
On Monday night, Taylor held yet another gathering — this time in a private Wasilla hangar — with no broad public invitation, no official campaign sponsoring it, no host organization listed, no disclaimer made — and RSVP required via a phone number with no name attached.
It’s unclear what role the State of Alaska played in the event, but Taylor used his official title and his family assures us this was not a campaign event.
Yet it wasn’t just an appearance at a conference or symposium. Taylor was the main event at this meet-and-greet. And his topic wasn’t just law and order. Alaska’s top lawman was talking about oil and gas, including the Alaska LNG project. He was talking about Alaska’s economic future. He was talking about things Republican candidates talk about.
AG Taylor has being doing more appearances this year, and the pace of public talks are out of character for both Taylor and for his attorney general predecessors, who generally have kept a low profile.
The events appear to be strategic pre-campaign opportunities intended to raise Taylor’ profile’s name ID among the donor class. As an attorney and Alaska’s top law officer, Taylor knows just how far he can go legally without breaking the law, but his actions give the appearance of someone laying the groundwork for a campaign, and doing so while holding a sworn office.
A little digging revealed that the RSVP phone number for the Wasilla event traces back to a now-dissolved company, Precision Exploration, linked in Dun & Bradstreet to Dmitry Kudryn, who has a fraud conviction on his record. Must Read Alaska found the press release from the Department of Justice describing his conviction, and writer Craig Medred wrote about Kudryn in this expansive column in 2019:
The sentencing announcement from the US Department of Justice supports what writer Medred described:
Must Read Alaska also found Dmitry Kudryn is a major donor to Republican candidates. In 2022 he donated $10,000 to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s reelection campaign, and he has donated at least $2,500 to Wasilla Sen. Rob Yundt’s campaigns. His political donation record goes back years. His federal contributions to the Donald Trump campaign are impressive:
Thus, Dmitry Kudryn is likely political donor for upcoming statewide elections.
More documentation is below about now-dissolved Precision Exploration.
Vitaly Kudryn, who is the only name listed in the state records for Precision Exploration, is Dmitry’s brother and doesn’t appear to have any of the troubling court records that Dmitry has. The brothers are Ukrainian-Americans also associated with other businesses in Alaska, such as Crave LLC, which sold electronic accessories, iPhone/iPad cords, external charging batteries, decorative iPhone cases and other related items. That company is currently out of compliance at the Department of Commerce, according to state records.
But the main question remains: Since Monday’s event is one in a series of profile-building events Taylor has had in recent weeks, is AG Taylor running a stealth campaign already, without declaring that he is a candidate for governor?
Other Republicans who are declared candidates include Sen. Shelley Hughes, former Sen. Click Bishop, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, political activist Bernadette Wilson, Mat-Su Borough Mayor Edna DeVries, Dr. Matt Heilala, and former Angoon City Council member James Parkin. All are Republican. In addition, Commissioner of Revenue Adam Crum’s last day is Aug. 8, and he is expected to announce for governor shortly thereafter.
Tell us you don’t like Treg without saying you don’t like Treg…
AG Taylor has been fighting for Alaska for years against a hostile Biden admin. He is doing a great job for Alaskans. Part of that job is giving talks and answering Alaskans questions about the gas line.
That said I sure hope he does run though. Then he can start talking about what he’ll do for Alaska instead of just talking about the gas line. You know, campaigning.
Are you one of the corrupt millionaires that donates to republicans?
I am manny. Not the corrupt part though. Are you a corporate millionaire that donates to corrupt democrat politicians???
Well John, I don’t like Treg Taylor. And anyone who has been reading David Ignell’s articles about Treg Taylor on this site should know why Treg is not to be trusted. Many of us also have personal experience with Treg Taylor while he has been the Alaska Attorney General, and he is refusing to follow the law. I believe that any reasonable person should understand that if Treg Taylor can’t follow basic Alaska Statutes and Administrative Code, he certainly should not be trusted with any position in public office.
John, how can Alaskans trust Taylor’s gas line chatter or anything else the boy says when he has no answers about the whole story of Thomas Jack’s incarceration, Chief Walls’ resignation, the “Alaska Mom” case, the Department of Justice having to demand Alaskan voter-roll data, the incompetent prosecution of LeDoux’s vote-fraud case, illegal aliens infesting Alaska, Attorney General Barr having to visit Alaska and give the state $10 million. Where’d the $10 mil go, by the way? Did it fix the problem?
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Answers to questions like those, especially questions about potential Hatch Act violation, help voters decide whether Taylor has the cred to talk about a gas line or is just another in a long line of BS artists polluting the RCV ballot for the purpose of getting a Democrat governor elected.
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Yes, the Hatch Act, in what universe is Taylor’s private gig as Alaska’s Attorney General not a Hatch Act violation?
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What if attendees violated or were plotting to violate some state law Taylor’s supposed to prosecute, how’s he supposed to prosecute them with any degree of impartiality?
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Look at “Pam Melin: Who is turning Alaska purple on purpose?”, put that with what we know, or more to the point, what we don’t know about Alaska’s easily corruptible election system, throw in Taylor’s approval of ERIC, it’s hard to believe he’s not part of the same Establishment who seem so dedicated to making children stupid, spending the state into oblivion, and weaponizing the judiciary against the citizenry to the point that people talk about asking DOJ to intervene.
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Enough coaching, anyone can talk about a gas line; but Taylor apparently goes one better and uses his official title at a private event, for which the RSVP phone number traces back to a dissolved company linked to a federally convicted fraudster!
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How that fighting for Alaska or doing a great job for Alaskans, especially Alaskans like Thomas Jack or Chief Walls? Maybe no right or wrong answer, your thoughts?
Boom.
Facts dropped.
👍🫷👌
I’d be inclined to be a Treg proponent if he were a little faster joining other AGs lawsuits against the Biden schemes.Also, where is the waiver request for AK to eliminate the sugars and other junk food for SNAP participants and cleaning up the fraud?
Are you serious?! Alaska joined more lawsuits against the feds under AG Taylor than any other AG in Alaska history — EVER!
I find this somewhat troubling. Kudryn donating to Rob Yundt’s campaign. I find Mr. Yundt to becoming somewhat of a RINO. Time will tell. Politics make strange bedfellows.
Reading through all this plus Medred’s article one gets the feeling things are not bright shiny clean.
Politics creates interesting bedfellows. Even with RSVPs to unnamed phone numbers, dissolution of entities, all bundled with less than savory cons, AG Taylor may want to be a bit more prudent.
If it smells like a dead skunk in the road …….
We will end up with a Democrat Cause Republicans are to stupid to drop out when they need to They all think they can do better than the next guy/girl that is running
John,
More like… campaigning for the governor’s seat without telling us that’s what you’re actually doing. Too stealth for me.
Well one thing I have been noticed is the Republicans fighting themselves. When I was doing door knocking a lot of people like Must to read Alaska but now there was so many articles picking up the side, everything happened only make Democrats are happy. That doesn’t sounds like conservative voices.
I wrote and emailed a letter to Attorney General Taylor today about a problem lawyer in the civil division at the Department of Law. I requested a response. Methinks he’ll be too busy delivering speeches and kissing babies all over the state to respond.
I have written AG Taylor on a couple of issues. Unresponsive. He’s too busy with subversion of the laws.
We have enough problems with the so-called republican partyin Alaska, that it’s not prudent for us to be canabalistic and eat our ownimeN am I the only one who see’s no show marry using this in the gubernatorial election?
It’s like choosing a proctologist, young idealist or old realist, you’re still gonna get it in the end. It’s their motivation that counts…they may both be Alaskan, but are they Alaskan first? Check their motives.
So the very same Treg Taylor, whose office declined to prosecute Garrett Elder a couple years ago for running a disgusting Ponzi scheme resulting in numerous Alaskans losing tens of millions of dollars despite the State’s Banking and Securities Division providing a rock solid case, is now cavorting with another scam artist who should be rotting behind bars for his crimes instead of purchasing political influence?
Go figure.
Just another Good ole’ boys Club (Juneau style) roulette game anyone?
We need to hear a Dahlstrom update. That woman cannot have a future political career.
Treg Taylor refused to prosecute Alaska’s largest financial crime in recent decades despite much of the work having been done by the Fed and openly available. That would be the Garrett Elder / Tycoon Trading debacle that fornicated $30mm out of hard working Alaskan’s hands.
If his track record confirms that he’s been grossly irresponsible to that degree and more, imagine how irresponsible he’d be if allowed responsibility for the entire State. Treg Taylor is not worthy of your vote.
I should run for governor.