More Than 100 Bernie Sanders Donors Sue Debbie Wasserman Schultz for Fraud

Amid allegations that Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz "rigged" the Democratic presidential primary in favor of Hillary Clinton, 120 people, including 104 Bernie Sanders donors, sued both Wasserman Schultz and the DNC in the Southern District Court of Florida yesterday for fraud, negligence, misrepresentation, and other claims. They alleged she misled the DNC and Sanders donors into thinking she was "impartial."

The suit comes after a group of Russian hackers published emails they claim show the DNC had, since May 2015, been planning strategies to help Hillary Clinton defeat Donald Trump in the general election.

The suit cites DNC bylaws, which state that the chairperson "shall exercise impartiality and evenhandedness as between the Presidential candidates and campaigns," and that the chair is responsible for ensuring DNC officers and staff "maintain impartiality."

Despite consistently claiming she'd been fair, the suit asserts that "the truth of the DNC's deception started to come to public light" this month after a hacker known as "Guccifer 2.0" released an alleged internal DNC document from 2015 that stated the DNC's "goals in the coming months will be to frame the Republican field and the eventual nominee early and to provide a contrast between the GOP field and [Hillary Clinton]."

"Despite there being every indication that the 2016 Democratic primary would be contested by multiple candidates, including Sanders, the DNC Memo makes no mention of any Democratic candidate except Clinton, and builds the DNC's election strategy on the assumption that Clinton will be the nominee, with no doubts attached," the plaintiffs wrote.

The plaintiffs are requesting the complaint be certified as a class-action lawsuit.

Wasserman Schultz's primary opponent, Tim Canova, is running against the congresswoman in Florida's 23rd Congressional District.

 A DNC spokesperson declined to comment on the case. New Times has reached out to the plaintiff's counsel as well.

Here's a copy of the complaint:


This is a breaking story. This post will be updated.

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