Donna Brazile, the former interim Democratic National Committee chairwoman, is explosively outlining how the Hillary Clinton campaign seized control of the Democratic Party as far back as August 2015.
Brazile said that DNC CEO Amy Dacey signed an agreement with Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook in August 2015 known as the Joint Fundraising Agreement, according to Brazile's new editorial in Politico. The agreement, which occurred between the DNC, Hillary Victory Fund and Hillary for America, stipulated that the Clinton campaign would raise money for and invest in the DNC in return for Clinton controlling the party's finances, strategy and money raised. It also required the DNC to consult with the campaign about "staffing, budgeting, data, analytics, and mailings," according to Brazile, and gave the campaign final decision-making power on staffing matters.
The agreement, which Brazile described as "not illegal, but it sure looked unethical," was in part necessitated by the fact that President Barack Obama had left the party in a dire fiscal mess.
"Obama left the party $24 million in debt—$15 million in bank debt and more than $8 million owed to vendors after the 2012 campaign and had been paying that off very slowly," Brazile wrote. "Obama’s campaign was not scheduled to pay it off until 2016. Hillary for America (the campaign) and the Hillary Victory Fund (its joint fundraising vehicle with the DNC) had taken care of 80 percent of the remaining debt in 2016, about $10 million, and had placed the party on an allowance."
The Clinton campaign also redirected donations from the Hillary Victory Fund, Brazile claimed. The individual limit to the fund was maxed out at $353,400 (based on the fact that there were 32 participating states), and Brazile said the funds were then directed toward the DNC, which then sent the money to the Clinton campaign in Brooklyn. This was possible because individuals can contribute more money to state parties and national committees than presidential campaigns.
The agreement alleged by Brazile would explain a great deal about why the Democratic Party primaries seemed at times to have been rigged in favor of Clinton. This included the debates being scheduled in ways that seemed to advantage her or how, even after Sanders won a series of major primary victories, he still seemed to fall farther behind Clinton in the delegate count.
Brazile also wrote that, after learning that the Clinton campaign had essentially seized control of the Democratic Party before the primaries had started, she contacted Sen. Bernie Sanders to discuss the matter with him.
Brazile has not escaped harsh criticism herself when it comes to the Clinton campaign's questionable conduct. Most notoriously, she was revealed through the Wikileaks publications to have passed debate questions along to Clinton prior to a town hall event.
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