Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, has publicly accused the Democratic National Comittee of “actively attempting to undermine our campaign” in a press conference on Friday. The DNC barred Sanders’ camp from accessing a database of voter information after it was revealed that its staffers had improperly accessed data.
On Friday, news broke that several Sanders aides had taken voter information compiled by the campaign of Sanders rival Hillary Clinton during a firewall breach. One of the staffers, the campaign's data director, was fired in the aftermath, but several other members were reportedly involved. The Sanders campaign won't be allowed to use its voter information until an investigation is complete, which could cripple its primary efforts.
The database holds information used by political campaigns to target potential voters. The DNC owns the master list, which it then rents out to political campaigns, allowing them to add their own data. If the Sanders campaign is denied access to the information in the database, it will severely hamstring the campaign's ability to plan and strategize on the election trail.
The Sanders campaign is accusing the DNC of trying to help Clinton's presidential run by enacting this block. Weaver called for a “full and independent audit of the DNC’s mishandling of this data” and said that the Sanders group would take the DNC to court if the lockout continues.
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