Fired Sanders aide: I wasn't peeking at Clinton Data Files

[Divernan]

Source: WMUR

(CNN) —The Bernie Sanders campaign staffer who was fired for accessing data unique to the Hillary Clinton campaign's vote file, told CNN on Friday that he was only trying to "understand how badly the Sanders campaign's data was exposed" and not attempting to take data from the Clinton campaign.

"We knew there was a security breach in the data, and we were just trying to understand it and what was happening," said Josh Uretsky, reached by phone on Friday morning, a day after the campaign let him go. He added, "To the best of my knowledge, nobody took anything that would have given the (Sanders) campaign any benefit."

Uretsky, who is experienced with the NGP-VAN system used by the DNC and has administered it before, said he first noticed the data breach on Wednesday morning.

"We investigated it for a short period of time to see the scope of the Sanders campaign's exposure and then the breach was shut down presumably by the vendor," he said. "We did not gain any material benefit."

Read more: http://www.wmur.com/politics/fired-sanders-aide-i-wasnt-peeking-at-clinton-data-files/37026958#comments

[VanillaRhapsody]

1. hahahahahahahahahahahahahah

Yeah right....sounds plausible

[Divernan]

9. Wow! a 1 minute dump-on-the-thread turnaround time.

That's a DU record! And so much substance too!

[VanillaRhapsody]

10. the thread was already so full of "dump"

[Divernan]

12. & another less than a minute turnaround. Such diligence!

And your nuanced analysis is, as always, totes overwhelming!

[CoffeeCat]

20. LOL! (nt)

[VanillaRhapsody]

27. It needed more than 3 seconds? To figure out he was caught red handed?

No I don't think so...

[rhett o rick]

38. It's a good tactic. Monitor the new OP's and jump in the number one response slot.

It must be quick so the response is usually just babble. Can you imagine the coordination involved? I wish as much time would be spent debating issues.

[roguevalley]

55. what else do they have. it's not like hill

Ever had a computer thing. Oh wait...

[Plucketeer]

91. I'd stop short of calling it a "good" tactic

But it appears to be a tactical maneuver nonetheless! I can't imagine the desperation that would keep one glued to the monitor 24/7 just to launch a retaliatory strike.

[Divernan]

92. One does wonder what the quid pro quo is.

[rhett o rick]

93. It's a tag team thing. It's easier that actually trying to debate issues. nm

[hopeforchange2008]

26. Actually, it does.

I had a similar occurrence when I was taking an online course recently for a masters program. Early in the course, due to some permission set-up issue, I - as a student - was granted access to the instructor's folders on Blackboard and could see everything that the prof had prepared for the course, including quizzes and tests. It took me a while to understand what I was seeing, and when it dawned on me that permissions were clearly screwy and that my access was to things that I should not be seeing, I reported it to the professor and Blackboard help. My permissions were corrected. During the time that I had free rein in the course folders, I could have run rampant through the course materials, but I did not.

So, if you've had the experience where your integrity is tested and you choose to act with integrity, you could relate to the above story. On the other hand, if you have not had the experience of choosing the high-road, you probably can't relate.

[VanillaRhapsody]

29. THIS is not in the least bit plausible.....

He was the National Data Director...

[hopeforchange2008]

41. Those not familiar with integrity might not recognize the signs...

[VanillaRhapsody]

44. No they sure wouldn't...

apparently...

[VanillaRhapsody]

104. How is that campaign "integrity" working out for them now???

[6chars]

53. He was an experienced professional

[VanillaRhapsody]

54. EXACTLY!

[leftofcool]

56. That "director" is full of horseshit!

And he knows he is.

[EndElectoral]

99. As plausible as this...

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/20/us/politics/hillary-clinton-emails-statements.html?_r=0

[VanillaRhapsody]

103. feeling desperate huh?

And yes...I was right..it was NOT plausible......and I called it in less than 3 minutes and was excoriated for that!

neener neener neener!

[U of M Dem]

58. I don't see how this is funny.

"hahahahahahahahahahahahahah"





Camp Weathervane must be a pretty dull place if this is somehow humorous...

Inane reply and rabid laughter aside, is there any statement of substance you can make for this issue?

Dubious comments indeed.

[VanillaRhapsody]

59. Of course you don't....

It makes YOUR team look a whole lot less "saintly"

[U of M Dem]

62. I repeat:

"Inane reply and rabid laughter aside, is there any statement of substance you can make for this issue?"

Take 2...

[Ned_Devine]

63. Don't waste your time with them.

I think we're better off just completely splitting our threads into the Sanders group and the Hillary group. This way we can just use these next few weeks to get fired up to win the first two contests in Iowa and new Hampshire. These open discussion threads just lead to a lot of ill will and nastiness.

[VanillaRhapsody]

69. Yeah you better get busy...

she just became 2 points away from Sanders in NH too!

[Ned_Devine]

70. Oh, we're already on it.

[VanillaRhapsody]

105. better get busier!

it just got tougher!

[Ned_Devine]

108. Piss off

[U of M Dem]

80. I understand that option, to put others on ignore...

ignorance is bliss and all.

If both sides go to their own groups and stay quiet for the rest of this primary season then that option is fine, but, if only one side does this the other side controls the narrative. If GD-P, for example, is such a cesspool, then why even bother logging on to DU - stay put at either Camp Weathervane or on Reddit's Bernie Page in an echo chamber.

I don't want to "play nice" with the HillBots or "just let them be" because "they are not worth my time." I don't see it this way.

It is not that the HillBots would ever allow reasonable discussion points about Bernie, the DNC, or Hillary to breach the hivemind, but if their regurgitated talking points, "memes," and ideology go unchallenged, they become a part of the political narrative in this country.

Part of challenging power is challenging those that are either infatuated by power, paid to uphold the status quo, or too comfortable in their mediocrity to see that others are trampled underfoot and marginalized by the hierarchy of The Powers That Be. The Clintons indeed have a lofty perch upon this hierarchy.

Controlling the narrative is exactly how the GOP is dominant in many areas where logic and reason should prevail (i.e. voters voting against their own interests).

I don't want to let the GOP Light - 3rd Wayers (HRC, DWS, etc.) and their proxies to allow this country to further slip into the American Dreamstate where the fear and security sold by the empire trump the freedom and civil liberties which an equitable system of governance grants.

Bernie is the best chance we have to stop the onslaught of our Empire against the world, but if he does not prevail, I am not going to stay quiet and allow others' ignorance, greed, or incredulity enable The Powers That Be to the best of my ability.

BTW love that movie Ned.

[VanillaRhapsody]

68. Yeah....that Bernie's supporters are above reproach!

[angrychair]

76. Sometimes the truth

Is the truth...sometimes it is no more complicated than old records being shoved in a box and stored somewhere. Everything is no always a scandal Mr. Starr.

[U of M Dem]

100. ZING!

Again, failing to deliver on substantive discourse.

I hope this is as fun for you as it is me.

[zeemike]

71. Some people laugh when their opponent gets hurt.

They think it is funny...in a vindictive sort of way.

[newthinking]

74. This is going to end up blowing up for the DNC. There are laws about liability and responsibility

for private data (which is what was exposed).

If they did not do diligence in securing and following up on complaints they broke multiple US confidential private data laws. This is a class action by the actual public who's data was exposed.

If Hillary's campaign is really concerned with the data breech they should bring a lawsuit for those who had their data exposed against those who did not properly safeguard it.

[zeemike]

75. I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

Dirty tricks seldom get punished if done by the right people.

[newthinking]

82. This involved PII (Personally Identifiable Information). There are many laws and obligations

I know because I work in IT and am required to take classes on data privacy.

Not only are the DNC and the vendor potentially liable, if the vendor IT specialists did not do diligence they could be personally liable.

That is the *real* risk here. Not of a campaign employee loose canon, but how this happened in the first place.

If Bernie has good IT advisors he will turn this heat back where it should be ethically and legally, the vendor and (if they knew about a problem) on the DNC.

[U of M Dem]

83. I understand the concept of Schadenfreude

but it is plain juvenile.

[newthinking]

72. If you worked in IT you would know this is as possible as not

This is all manufactured political "reality" at this point. Until this gets are real forensic analysis it is as likely to not be anything nefarious as it is (to be).

The REAL questions that should be being asked are to the DNC and the vendor how they allowed this to occur. There was a serious breach of security standards and ethics here.

According to law the developer, and potentially the DNC are actually legally liable for this breech if it is shown they did not do diligence.

[VanillaRhapsody]

73. Yes I do work in IT...have for over 10 yrs professionally...

According to WHAT law?

If a guy walks into your house and steals your TV because you left your door open...who is liable...you or the guy that took your TV?

[newthinking]

84. You are obviously not involved in data security

Especially if you work for a government or non-profit entity if you have not been given proper education as an IT entity (which your question seems to suggest) I would certainly pursue it with your employer, because you actually could end up in a place where you have personal liability.

This is not political catchism, it is everyday knowledge in my workplace and most IT organizations.

[VanillaRhapsody]

85. Yes I was for a time...

and yes to govt work too...and that is why you have to have govt security clearances...access to PII among other things...

You are not allowed to look at and use data you are not supposed to...even if it becomes possible for you to do so...

If it were just impossible...how do you explain what Snowden did? He had to have access to see the data in the first place.....

[newthinking]

87. Not saying it is impossible. I am saying the wrong questions are being sought

this is political theater and not the real issue here.

They did so many things wrong on so many levels (the vendor, and or the DNC security staff depending on the architecture) that this could have even happened. From the way the application appears it was architectured to the way it was patched.

It was apparently a known issue. The system should have been brought offline for maintenance (if it was not initially) and TESTED BEFORE any customer could access it again. This is so laughably easy to do with multiple ways to do it that it suggests incredible incompetence and potential liability.

[VanillaRhapsody]

88. It doesn't matter that the firewall was down

You know damn well the National Data Director KNEW it was wrong...and he even had 4 underlings doing it too...


That's willful not ignorance.

[Tarheel_Dem]

107. ^^^^ THIS ^^^^

I wonder what his DU handle is.

[Helen Borg]

2. My theory.

Somebody related to the Clinton campaign caused the glitch so they could snoop on Bernie's data.

[SmittynMo]

5. I was thinking the same thing

It's dirty politics at it's worse. And who created this firewall security issue? Intentional? No testing after an upgrade? I'm not hearing squat about this. Hopefully it will all come out today as to who is really to blame. My money is on the DNC.

These ruthless politicians have gone too far.

The good news? Bernie got a whole 10 seconds on all of the corrupt MSM channels to discuss this.

[VanillaRhapsody]

11. hahahahahahahaha

sooo funny....

[Betty Karlson]

19. Probably, yes. n/t

[CoffeeCat]

24. That's very true!

There was an open window here.

The Sanders campaign didn't create this problem.

The Sanders campaign didn't hack anyone.

They spotted a data breach and they investigated.

My husband is a network engineer, and he just said, "I find anomalies all of the time. That doesn't mean that I created them or was benefitting from them. If this guy is an IT guy, of course he's going to root around to assess what the problem is."

I mean, what is on these lists anyway? I'm sitting here with Sander's campaign phone lists right in front of me. And codes, based on what transpired during the calls. It's not that big of a deal for the Sanders campaign to stumble up on some lists that show that the Hillary campaign contacted Jane Smith in Cedar Rapids and that she wasn't home; or that Fred from Sigourney Iowa is heavily leaning Clinton.

It's not like they stumbled upon some secret-spy documents.

Is there any proof that the data was acted upon or exploited in any way? Were any Clinton supporters called and attempted to be lured away?

This is turning out to be a big fat nothing.

[rtracey]

28. and

and yet the guy was fired? so what, he was fired for nothing, then if he was fired for nothing, whats up with that?

[Human101948]

36. It's politics...you have to scapegoat someone to cool down the issue...

It could have been him snooping on Clinton info. It could have been him checking on security. Or it could have been a setup by the Clinton camp. Or a trap set by the Clinton supporters at the data company. All are plausible scenarios.

[CoffeeCat]

37. I don't really know...

...this whole thing is kind of boring.

I was going to Google, to find out exactly what happened with this guy and what his actions were.

This is just not that big of a deal.

The Des Moines Register has nothing on this. Right now, Iowa is the critical campaign ground and I don't see this story exploding into a Watergate. As much as the Clinton supporters would like that...I think this is over before the weekend ends.

Iowans don't really care about this nonsense anyway. And Bernie is within single digits there, and the peak campaign season hasn't even happened yet. So maybe both camps just need to focus on what's important.

[Helen Borg]

95. Was Dean scream a big deal?

[jeff47]

39. It's an attempt to "make nice" with the DNC.

People are routinely fired from all sorts of jobs for political reasons.

[sharp_stick]

33. Ahh the inevitable false flag

reply. It's a common go to when something bad happens.

[questionseverything]

78. ...

"Turns out that Nathaniel Pearlman, the CEO of NGP-VAN, the company that is responsible for the data leak that got Sander's campaign banned by the DNC from seeing Democratic party voter roles, was the chief technology officer of the Clinton 2008 campaign."


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Pearlman

[newthinking]

86. If there was ill intent this looks more like LIHOP

As likely it is a major screwup by those in charge of security.

The only entity I have heard react appropriately so far has been Bernie's campaign (they informed the DNC when they first learned about it and fired the employee who was not taking proper precautions (at the least it sounds like).

They followed NIST requirements precisely in their dealing with the breach. I would love to see the press actually do their duty and point out not the political fight but the actual legal, ethical, and standards issues that this brings up.

[justiceischeap]

98. Unless the person on the Clinton campaign had access to proprietary software

then there's no way they could have caused the glitch. The glitch, in other words, was a security hole that was created by the application coders inadvertently--which happens often when coding apps but usually is found before being made public.

[Bubzer]

3. Considering the sensitive nature of such things, he should have his supervisor aware of it first.

[magical thyme]

16. agreed.

[pocoloco]

17. How do you get away with comparing Hillary to a smelly turd??? LOL

I have had several posts hidden for far less than that!!

[Bubzer]

32. I assume you're talking about my sig line? Your interpretation is wrong.

Perhaps you've heard of third way? Take a look at this;

and compare it to my sig line. That should help you understand the context.

[zazen]

4. this is Rovian tactic--falsely attack candidate in his supposed area of strength (trustworthiness)

I absolutely believe that Debbie et al went fishing with the NGP-VAN problems, about which she had done nothing for four months despite having been warned, to find a way to frame an attack on Bernie, HOURS AFTER he got his largest major endorsements.

If these security issues are so goddamned important that she effectively suspends Sanders campaign by refusing further access, then they should have been important enough for her to do something about the problems four months ago.

I understand what Uretsky is saying. If the DNC's data security management is screwed up and they won't fix it, and the leader of the DNC is actively shutting you out by scheduling debates at the worst possible times and then LYING ABOUT IT (as the Congresswoman from Hawaii outright claimed), then it makes a lot of sense that any campaign would go in to get views of what others can see about them, which means finding out what you can see about other people. You know the DNC isn't going to help you so you have to see what your opponents can find out about you. How else will you know?

Hillary's and Debbie's "campaign strategy" is transparent as hell anyway. No one needs to steal data to know what they're doing.

I didn't think I could get any angrier at Debbie. She already has blood on her hands for allowing Trump to steal the show this Fall just so she can favor her own candidate. She has done more than any Democrat to advance that man's candidacy.

This is a Karl Rove-type setup. Corrupt to the core.

[riversedge]

7. Whow. so now you have conjured up a conspiracy theory--and blame Hillary and DWS instead of

placing the blame on the man--Sanders data Director --who had no self control and went into Clinton camp data when there was the opportunity. Makes you look small.

[zazen]

14. this "makes me look small?" . . . bless your heart! n/t

[CoffeeCat]

25. You guys trying to gain oh-so much mileage out of this...

is indication that the Hillary side is so desperate for any dirt.

It's quite comical.

The Sanders campaign stumbled upon a data breach that they did not create. And this data was names and phone numbers and notes regarding the calls.

Now, if there's evidence that anyone used that data to call people on those lists--then that's a whole other ballgame. If not, we've got one campaigner who made a mistake.

I doubt this even survives a half of a news cycle.

[Human101948]

42. And you are naive about politics...

Do you really think that Clinton's crew is above what is common practice in national politics?

It seems to me that she has a record of dirty deeds that shouldmake you think twice.

[CoffeeCat]

47. Are you kidding me? I live in Iowa...

I saw what a lying, sniveling bunch of jokers Hillary and her campaign are. Up close and personal.

When it comes to sinking low, there is no floor for her, Mark Penn and the rest of her gang.

Off the top of my head, here's a few gems from the 2008 campaign--in Iowa alone.

--Clinton was accused of running a cold and impersonal campaign in Iowa, so he response was to organize a town hall that would be oh-so open and accessible. Clinton would answer Iowans questions! Well, turns out, all of the questions were planted. An Iowan came forward and told her story. She gave a Clinton staffer a question, the staffer told her to ask another question instead and began to coach her on how to ask the question. Nonsense like this. And yeah, Iowans weren't too happy about the dishonesty.

--She sent her surrogate Bob Kerry from Nebraska to endorse her in Iowa--very close to the caucus date--and Kerry said during the press conference where he endorsed, "I love that his name is Barrack Hussein Obama!" This happened when Obama was struggling with right-wing crazies suggesting that he was a Muslim and that this was a national-security issue.
Kerrey later apologized.

I got a million of em! Yeah, she's Rovian all right. I just don't think this is that big of a deal. There's not a lot of "there" there.

The CNN story spells it out clearly, "Our campaign months ago alerted the DNC to the fact that campaign data was being made available to other campaigns. At that time our campaign did not run to the media, relying instead on assurances from the vendor," he said. (quote from Sanders campaign staffer).

This scandal will cultivate the usual boring blather. Sanders supporters will defend Sanders. Clinton supporter will try to bash Bernie. Lots of foaming at the mouth for a news cycle. No hearts and minds changed. The campaigns will roll on with everyone in their respective corners.

[Human101948]

50. Amen!

Thanks for the explanation.

[Nedsdag]

77. Bravo!

[grahampuba]

35. looking small?

would have to say the window pales in comparison to the mirror here.

I think its telling that when someone assumes the worst of others in situations, often reveals the observers intents and motives more than the subjects.

[newthinking]

89. The campaign followed security protocol and dismissed the person on their side

Indeed this has not gone where (yet) where it should go which suggests the issue has become politicized and ethics, liability, and responsibility are not being attended to.

No-one is asking the very serious questions. This breach was akin to Amazon "temporarily" making customer credit card data available for other people under "my account" while performing data maintenance. And it apparently happened more than once?

[seabeckind]

8. Exactly.

There was NO critical information.

Only a total fool would put their internal campaign information into a common database.

Why in the world would I ever put someone like that in charge of the executive branch?

[CoffeeCat]

31. You bring up a good point...related to Clinton's emails

And how much credibility does Clinton have, considering her own email scandals?

This could end up with a media analysis that may end up right back in her face.

The whole thing is kind of deliciously ironic, don't you think?

Wouldn't that be a little awkward for the Clinton camp to try to exploit this and give some speech about how reckless and horrifying it is for sensitive data to be breached from a vulnerable computer system?

LOL!

[LeFleur1]

65. Amusing

Rules don't matter if some think NO critical information was gained. Go ahead and break them, use your own judgement concerning them. Laws, too.

Is that the Sanders position? What countries would sign agreements with that kind of mindset by the President?

[riversedge]

6. umm. so there is a "we' to this story!! more drip

[Buzz Clik]

13. LOL! This is rich. The cat with a canary in his mouth: "I was hiding him from the dog."

[yellowcanine]

15. "I was not having sex with the prostitute, I was doing research."

Whatever you say, Josh.

But how does looking at Clinton data shed light on how much Sander's data was exposed? Wouldn't it have made more sense to try to access Sander's data with bogus credentials?

[MrWendel]

30. LMAO!

[madokie]

18. Hey

Hillary fights dirty. If you want proof of that look no further than her last run for the Presidency. President Obama was the recipient of much of that dirtiness

Thats how I seen it come down.

[Nedsdag]

79. The Clintons have been fighting dirty for years.

Remember in 1992 when they said that Jerry Brown sponsored parties that featured cocaine?

[madokie]

96. Oh yeah

Not that particular one but I do remember they engaged in a very dirty campaign.

The clintons think that Hillary deserves the Presidency or whatever it is they think.

Personally I don't want her even close to the oval office.

I will vote for our nominee whoever it is. A yellow dog would be much better than any of the 'CONs, we must not forget that.

[magical thyme]

21. Given the keystroke capturing of sw these days, demanding Sanders' campaign 'give it up'

is a smear tactic and nothing more.

I know that HIPAA requires full keystroke capturing -- they can tell who accessed what file and exactly what data they looked at, the date and time they looked at it, if they copied or printed it. Same with the software at the mutual fund company I used to work at.

The appropriate people either already know, or will know soon, if any data was stolen by anybody from any of the candidates data files. And whose account stole it.

Either that, or the software marketed by Aharan Wasserman is a pile of crap.

[Divernan]

22. Excellent point! Thank you!

[MrWendel]

23. Hmmmmm....

[Historic NY]

34. This wasn't a lone wolf operation of just Josh Uretsky....

he instructed 4 other staffers to blow through the information.

"Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said four Sanders campaign staffers accessed Clinton data, and that three of them did so at the direction of their boss, Josh Uretsky, who was the operative fired."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dnc-sanders-campaign-improperly-accessed-clinton-voter-data/2015/12/17/a2e2e14e-a522-11e5-b53d-972e2751f433_story.html


We knew there was a security breach in the data, and we were just trying to understand it and what was happening," said Josh Uretsky, reached by phone on Friday morning, a day after the campaign let him go.

He added, "To the best of my knowledge, nobody took anything that would have given the (Sanders) campaign any benefit."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/18/politics/sanders-dnc-data-breach-josh-uretsky/index.html

That's why he had 4 people going through the information. He's a lying sack of shit that got caught.

[w4rma]

40. 3 people.

Also, he *can't* be lying because the client-side and server-side logs show *exactly* what was accessed and when.

[Historic NY]

45. "Hey kids look what I found"....

Stu Trevelyan, the chief executive officer of NGP VAN, stressed that users of the database from the Sanders campaign were able to search by and view, but not export or save or act on, “some attributes” that came from the Clinton campaign.

He stressed that by Friday morning he was confident that no other campaigns have had “access to or have retained any voter file data of any other clients; with one possible exception, one of the presidential campaigns.”

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/12/18/sanders-campaign-disciplined-for-breaching-clinton-data/

[CoffeeCat]

49. Were they all looking at the data together?

What exactly was the situation, do we know?

Did Uretsky call people over to his computer and say, "You guys look at this, the entire network is open."

Or did Uretsky tell four staffers to man their computers, access the data and go to town on it?

Is there any evidence to say as you said, "he instructed 4 other staffers to blow through the information."

Can you point me to evidence that this is what he did?

I'm not finding it.

[Sunlei]

43. "breach was shut down presumably by the vendor" So the 'vendor' has access to those files?

Those files are wide open to the vendor and whoever 'the vendor' allows. Vendor can also copy files and hand them over to anyone they want.

[CoffeeCat]

52. Doesn't that mean that the Clinton camp had access to Sander's campaign info?

Two-way street right?

And if this was such an open breach that anyone could see, why didn't the Clinton camp ever report it. Bernie's camp reported it before, according to CNN.

"Our campaign months ago alerted the DNC to the fact that campaign data was being made available to other campaigns. At that time our campaign did not run to the media, relying instead on assurances from the vendor," he said. (quote from Sanders staffer).

Did the Clinton camp's IT team fail to notice that this entire database was open to anyone who wanted to view it?

God, this is all so silly.

[LannyDeVaney]

60. Guess her staff is more ethical ...

unless you have proof they peaked at Sander's data?

You brought it up.

[CoffeeCat]

64. I'm wondering why such a glaring security issue...

went unnoticed by the Clinton camp.

A database being completely open to everyone--Sanders, Clinton and the firm maintaining the database. That's an issue that a first-semester student at DeVry University would notice.

Her IT people should have detected this, and reported it--as the Sanders campaign people did.

Odd that they didn't do that.

Again, I think this is all pretty silly.

[ViseGrip]

102. The VAN IT guy was Hillary's IT guy in 2008. Conflict for DWS to hire him. He opened the firewall!

[HoosierCowboy]

46. Doubling....

...the total amount of free airtime exposure CNN has given the Sanders campaign so far...

[mountain grammy]

48. I love the smell of desperation in the morning.

[riversedge]

51. Well, did you have a blingfold on?

[NowSam]

57. Bernie won't be swiftboated

But nice try, DNC AKA CAMP HILLARY. This is so transparent. No one is buying this. But it reminds me how dirty the business of politics is. I will vote for Bernie. Sorry DWS, this changes nothing. Bernie will come out on top and this attempt to smear his good name and bring him down to the level of his competition only gives him much deserved airtime and a chance to speak directly to the people.

[brooklynite]

66. Why was he fired?

If it was an honest mistake, and the DNC is making hay for political purposes, why isn't Sanders standing by his staffer?

[NowSam]

67. To demonstrate quick action and remove any appearance of impropriety

That is my perception. Also, my perception is that the DNC=Hillary Clinton. They are one and the same. In Cahoots.

[EndElectoral]

106. Exactly.

[book_worm]

61. Of course if it was on the other shoe and a HRC staffer were saying this

the Bernie supporters here on DU would be having a field day with that.

[Nedsdag]

81. This from the campaign that conceived the Birther campaign.

n/t

[StevieM]

94. There is not one word of truth to that assertion. (eom)