In a blistering statement, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager called the Sanders campaign’s allegations of campaign finance violations baseless and urged to stick to the issues instead of trying to convince the next generation of progressive leaders that the Democratic Party is corrupt.
Clinton campaign manager Robbie Mook released a strongly worded statement rejecting the Bernie 2016 allegations that Hillary for America and the DNC are skirting campaign finance laws.
Mook said:
The Sanders campaign’s false attacks have gotten out of hand. As Senator Sanders faces nearly insurmountable odds, he is resorting to baseless accusations of illegal actions and poisoning the well for Democratic candidates up and down the ticket. It is shameful that Senator Sanders has resorted to irresponsible and misleading attacks just to raise money for himself.
Instead of trying to convince the next generation of progressives that the Democratic Party is corrupt, Senator Sanders should stick to the issues and think about what he can do to help the Party he is seeking to lead.
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Furthermore, we call on Senator Sanders to end his frivolous and cynical lawsuit against the DNC, which continues to drain resources needed to help Democrats up and down the ticket win in November, and protect the progress we’ve made under President Obama.
It is revealing that the Sanders campaign did complain about what they view as campaign finance law violations, but they did not actually file a federal complaint about the alleged violations.
The politics behind the allegations are clear. The Sanders campaign is pulling out all of the stops in an attempt to paint Hillary Clinton as a corrupt tool of the big money special interests. The Sanders campaign is also trying to raise money of their accusations, and they could be looking for a way to distract their supporters from the potential double-digit loss that Sen. Sanders could be facing in New York on Tuesday.
The Sanders campaign could be looking for an issue to keep their supporters involved over what could be a very difficult next seven days.
There is no evidence that what Bernie 2016 is alleging is a violation, but in the post-Citizens​ United world that campaign finance operates in the laws are watered down and vague, so accusing and proving are two very different standards.
With their letter to the DNC, Bernie 2016 created a headline that will keep their campaign going, but declaring war on the party that he wants to lead may hurt him in the upcoming closed Democratic primaries.​
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
