DNC Restores Sanders' Access to Voter Data

Sanders camp complains DNC has 'tipped the scales' for Clinton
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 19, 2015 7:36 AM CST
DNC Restores Sanders' Access to Voter Data
Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver, speaks during a news conference at the Bernie 2016 Campaign Office in Washington, Friday, Dec. 18, 2015.    (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Democratic National Committee has agreed to restore access to voter files for the Bernie Sanders campaign, cooling tensions in what Politico calls a "civil war" within the party over the Sanders campaign's improper accessing of Clinton campaign data. The DNC agreed to restore access soon after the Sanders campaign made good on its threat to file a lawsuit but the two sides described the development in very different ways, reports the Washington Post. The Sanders campaign said the DNC had "capitulated" and "reversed its outrageous decision," while the DNC's statement said it had decided to restore access because the Sanders campaign had agreed to "fully cooperate with the continuing DNC investigation of this breach."

The issue has caused angry words to be exchanged ahead of Saturday night's debate, the AP reports. The Clinton campaign seemed especially annoyed by a Sanders fundraising email accusing the DNC of "tipping the scales" for Clinton. "They stole data as a reason to raise money for their campaign," Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said, per Politico. He said the breach was far more than the "inadvertent glimpse into our data" the Sanders campaign has described. "It's outrageous to suggest that our campaign 'stole' any data," countered Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs. "What is true is the data we collected and need to run a winning campaign is now being stolen from us by a DNC dominated by Clinton people." (More Bernie Sanders stories.)

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