Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I., Vt.) campaign manager accused the Democratic National Committee of paving the way for Hillary Clinton’s nomination on Friday.
"Clearly, in this case, it looks like they are trying to help the Clinton campaign," Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said at a press conference.
The DNC revoked the Sanders campaign’s access to an important voter database on Friday for allegedly accessing the Clinton campaign’s proprietary information.
The move has led to open warfare over the airwaves between the two parties, with the Sanders campaign charging that the DNC’s response was disproportionate to the offence.
Weaver said that while he doesn’t know the motivations "of every single person over at the DNC," some within the Democratic establishment resent the revolt from the left wing of the party represented by Sanders’s insurgent campaign.
"I am sure there are people within the Democratic establishment who are not happy about the overwhelming success that Senator Sanders is having all across the country," Weaver said, referring to Sanders’ competitiveness in early primary states like New Hampshire.
Weaver pointed out other instances of perceived bias in favor of Clinton by the DNC, including its decision to hold only six sanctioned debates—all at abnormal times unlikely to draw a large audience.
"We’ve obviously had concern about the Saturday night debate schedule and its impact on the ability of campaigns to get their message out," Weaver said.
At the press conference, Weaver threatened legal action against the DNC to regain access to its voter data.
Transcript below:
REPORTER: Is the DNC taking sides with the Clinton campaign?
JEFF WEAVER: I don’t know the motivation of every single person over at the DNC. But if you look at the pattern of conduct, we’ve obviously had concern about the Saturday night debate schedule and its impact on the ability of campaigns to get their message out. Clearly, in this case it looks like they are trying to help the Clinton campaign. We are taking on the establishment, and I am sure there are people within the Democratic establishment who are not happy about the overwhelming success that Senator Sanders is having all across the country. But we are determined to win this campaign, and we are going to win this campaign by talking about the issues that are important to the American people. To do that we need our data, which has been stolen by the DNC.