Bernie Sanders says the release of Democratic National Committee emails that show its staffers working against him underscore the position he’s held for months: Party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz needs to go.
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Wasserman Schultz, a congresswoman from Florida, announced her resignation on Sunday following the publication over the weekend of almost 20,000 hacked party emails, some of which suggested the DNC was favoring Clinton during the primary calendar. Sanders supporters charged that the DNC was biased toward Clinton, and Sanders late in the primary endorsed DNC chair Debbie Wassserman Schultz’s primary opponent in her Florida congressional race.
“As Party Chair, this week I will open and close the Convention and I will address our delegates about the stakes involved in this election not only for Democrats, but for all Americans”, she said.
“It just validated everything we thought, everything we believed to be true, that this was completely rigged right from the beginning, and that you know it was really about what they were doing everything to set it up so she would win”, Sanders supporter Gwen Sperling said.
Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation in a statement Sunday afternoon, saying she remains committed to seeing Clinton elected president. The hacked emails backed up long time claims from the senator from Vermont that the national party was working against him rather than staying neutral in the epic Democratic nomination battle between Sanders and the former US secretary of state.
The leaks riled up Sanders supporters the week that the Democratic Party was supposed to be rallying around its presumed nominee, Clinton.
Some Sanders supporters Monday shouted “Shame on you!” at Wasserman Schultz, while her supporters chanted her first name.
In an email to supporters-who were clearly quite angry-Sanders thanked them for their support and previewed his speech. Al Franken, D-Minn., and comedian Sarah Silverman speak during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Monday, July 25, 2016.
He did acknowledge his disappointment over the biased support of the top party leadership to the Clinton campaign during the primaries. Many wore Sanders campaign garb.
In the wake of the outcry, an effort on both the Clinton and Sanders teams was underway to quash any lingering issues, sources said.
Over the weekend, Wikileaks began publishing emails which appear to show how DNC officials worked to undermine the presidential campaign of Vermont Sen.
Sanders said he would continue to support Clinton as his main goal was to defeat Trump, Republican presidential candidate.
Regardless of the origins of the hack, it was Wasserman Schultz who bore the brunt of the political fallout.
Robby Mook, Clinton’s campaign manager said that, according to the security experts, it was the Russian state hackers who hacked into the DNC servers.
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Still, Sanders and others feel that the DNC chair should remain neutral during a nominating process. “She’s going to be gaveling in this convention”. Behind the scenes, Sanders and his campaign tried to persuade his delegates not to disrupt the proceedings.
