Bernie Sanders should be riding high just like those who “feel the Bern.” The man just set the record for more campaign donations than any non incumbent in U.S. history. His high profile supporters not only include many professional organizations, but also the likes of Ronda Rousey, Neil Young, Killer Mike, Emily Ratajkowski, and viral kid CJ Pearson. Bern is a contender.
However, a strange development has threatened the Sanders campaign. The trouble began after a Sanders aide was accused of (and fired for) improperly accessing data gathered by Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The whole matter sounds sketchball, but the employee allegedly found a security vulnerability and went to town. Then the DNC yanked Sanders’ access to their database. Without the info, Sanders’ efforts will be hindered, and pants will fly. That is, campaign manager Jeff Weaver has threatened legal action:
“The DNC, in an inappropriate overreaction, has denied us access to our own data,” Weaver said. “In other words, the leadership of the Democratic National Committee is actively trying to undermine our campaign … If they hold our data hostage, we will be in federal court this afternoon seeking immediate relief.”
He added, “The DNC is clearly acting in a heavy-handed way, in an unprecedented way. I would like to see another instance where a presidential campaign had their data — their own data — withheld under similar circumstances.”
Weaver maintains that the software vulnerability has been ongoing for months, and Sanders’ team saw their own info being hacked into, as well. He then says the DNC did not heed warnings and is to blame for not being “competent” enough to properly separate campaigns within its database. The implication is that the DNC is acting biased and delivering unfair punishment. Weaver says Sanders’ team complained about the vulnerability, and nothing was done. Yet when Clinton’s data was accessed, results happened. Little of this scandal makes sense, but that’s politics.
(Via CNN)