Rachel Maddow Debunks Bernie Sanders’ Claim Of Clinton Campaign Finance Violations

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:58 pm

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell debunked the Sanders campaign’s claim that Hillary Clinton and the DNC have violated campaign finance laws.

Video via MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show:

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While discussing the Sanders campaign’s allegation that Hillary Clinton and the DNC violated campaign finance laws, Mitchell said:

I’ve talked to as many experts as we could since this first evolved. PolitiFact says it’s mostly wrong. Larry Noble, who had been a general counsel at the FEC, and is an expert on this says that the allegation is not correct. They may be pushing the envelope, but that there really is no underlying corrupt nature to this relationship. I talked to the DNC, and they say that this is a joint campaign victory fund that was also offered to Bernie Sanders. That the Sanders campaign, they claim, signed an agreement, but they never exercised it, so they never engaged.

Maddow asked Mitchell if this was timed to the Clooney fundraiser?

Mitchell said that the timing of this was related to the New York primary.

Maddow and Mitchell then discussed the hurt feelings that are growing between both campaigns and their supporters.

There is one point about the Sanders allegations that doesn’t add up. Bernie Sanders is the biggest champion for getting rid of Citizens United in the United States. If the Sanders campaign had any evidence that the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign violated campaign finance laws, why didn’t they file an FEC complaint?

An FEC complaint would create national headlines and shine a light on the dirty campaign finance system, but the Sanders campaign chose not to do that. The answer to the question of why they didn’t can be found in their carefully chosen language in the letter to the DNC. The Sanders campaign wrote about “concerns” and “apparent violations,” which indicated that they don’t have any hard evidence to back up their allegations.

Campaign finance experts are suggesting that the Sanders campaign is off base with these allegations, and the timing of the claims screams strategic move to try to swing the electorate on the eve of a critical must-win primary.

The burden of proof is on the Sanders campaign. If they have evidence, let’s see it. Even better, if they have evidence, file an FEC complaint, because a major scandal is what it will take to put a stake through the heart of the current democracy killing campaign finance system.

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