Sanders campaign to hold press conference in wake of controversy

by Jonathan Easley - 12/18/15 12:03 PM ET

Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. on Friday from its offices near Capitol Hill to address a controversy surrounding a staffer that was fired for inappropriately accessing voter files for rival Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton supporters.

CNN quotes an unnamed aide saying the press conference will be to “answer questions about the situation involving the DNC.”

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) suspended the Sanders campaign’s access to a critical voter database over allegations a Sanders staffer improperly accessed confidential information compiled by Hillary Clinton.

{mosads}The Sanders campaign has fired the staffer, but blamed the incident on a software error made by the data company that manages the voter file.

Liberal groups like MoveOn.org and Democracy for America (DFA) are pushing the DNC to lift its punishment.

“The Democratic National Committee’s decision to attack the campaign that figured out the problem, rather than go after the vendor that made the mistake, is profoundly damaging to the party’s Democratic process,” said DFA Executive Director Charles Chamberlain. The DFA endorsed Sanders on Thursday.

“DNC leaders should immediately reverse this disturbing decision before the committee does even more to bring its neutrality in the race for president into question.”

Sanders, Clinton and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley will meet Saturday night for the third Democratic presidential debate.

Some liberals accuse the DNC of burying the debates on the weekends to hide Clinton from voter scrutiny and assist in paving the way for her nomination.

Tags Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton