Bernie Sanders Campaign Files A Federal Lawsuit Against The DNC

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The Sanders campaign has followed through on their threat by filing a complaint in federal court against the DNC for freezing them out of their own data.

According to the complaint:

25) The Campaign staffers who viewed the Disclosed Information were not able to save or copy the Disclosed Information due to restrictions and controls in the NGP VAN software. Most of the staffers exposed to the Disclosed Information viewed the Disclosed Information inadvertently.

26) When the Bug and resulting leak of the Disclosed Information were brought to the attention of senior Campaign staff, the Campaign conducted an internal investigation that revealed that one individual may have repeatedly accessed Disclosed Information. The Campaign immediately terminated this staff member.

27) On December 17, 2015, at approximately 2:47 p.m., the DNC suspended or terminated the Campaign’s Voter Data access. The suspension or termination of the Campaign’s access was undertaken without contractual cause, and in contravention of the Agreement’s termination protocols.

28) The DNC did not send the Campaign any written notice of termination, much less afford the Campaign the contractually required ten-day period in which to cure any default.

29) The Campaign’s inadvertent access of the Disclosed Information did not constitute a breach of any provision of the Agreement. Even assuming, arguendo, that the DNC could prove that Campaign staff intentionally accessed any Disclosed Information, such access NY_DOCS:607859.1 7 would not amount to a breach of the Agreement, or give the DNC cause to suspend or terminate the Agreement.

30) To the extent that the DNC is obligated to protect the Confidential Information of the other campaigns by virtue of Voter Data Agreements separately executed with those campaigns, it is the DNC and not the Campaign that is in breach of those contractual duties. The Campaign should not be punished for the carelessness of the DNC and its third-party vendor.

31) Whatever duties the DNC may have to protect the Confidential Information of the Competing Campaign, the DNC’s Agreement with the Campaign clearly states that these obligations “shall in no way impair the DNC’s ability to provide its obligations and services to the Campaign pursuant to this Agreement.” Agreement, ¶ 12.

32). The DNC may not suspend the Campaign’s access to critical Voter Data out of haste or desperation to clean up after the DNC’s own mistakes.

33) Upon information and belief, no action was taken in response to the Prior Incident in 2008, nor was any candidate’s access to Voter Data suspended as a result of that Incident.

34) Upon information and belief, the Campaign’s own Confidential Information might have also been compromised by virtue of the Bug in the December 16 Release

35) The Campaign is hamstrung without access to the Voter Data. With each passing day, the Campaign loses critical fundraising and publicity opportunities.

36) The financial damage caused by the loss of donations is estimated to be approximately $600,000.00 per day. However the damage to the Campaign’s political viability, as a result of being unable to communicate with constituents and voters, is far more severe, and incapable of measurement. NY_DOCS:607859.1 8

37) The DNC’s unwarranted, unilateral suspension of the Campaign’s Voter Data access directly impacts one of the nation’s most important electoral races, and carries political implications on a national scale. The DNC should not be permitted to tip the scales of the Democratic presidential primary without clear justification and contractual cause. The fairness of this pivotal national election should not be compromised because of security flaws introduced by the DNC and its vendor.

The Sanders campaign says that they are being punished for the carelessness of the DNC and the vendor that they hired. The campaign also called the DNC desperate to clean up their mistakes.

The whole mess that is unfolding before the eyes of the entire Democratic Party is not a Clinton versus Sanders issue. It is Sanders versus the DNC. This is a matter that belongs in court, and it looks like a judge will decide what happens next.

Jason Easley

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