Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Steps Down As DNC Chair

In light of the e-mail leak which showed a colluded effort to hinder Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign by the Democratic Party, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has resigned her position as the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. This could be a case of election fraud, which we cover extensively here. Even before her ouster, Wasserman-Schultz had faced harsh criticism by politicians and voters on both sides of the aisle.

It’s unclear what, if any, effect these e-mails and actions from high-up Democrats had on the primary election. Numbers have floated around but none have been able to be independently confirmed. What is true, however, are the multitude of reports from a handful of states and cities, particularly Arizona and New York regarding voter suppression by local election officials. Many voters in New York even stated that their registration was denied at the polls, and those in Arizona had to wait up to eight hours just to cast their vote because of a significant drop in the number of polling places compared to the 2012 election.

Also, it was reported this morning that Tim Canova, Schultz’s Democratic Primary opponent in Florida’s 23rd congressional district, will be filing a lawsuit against her based on the revelations in the e-mail release. The law professor said in a statement that, “The Wikileaks emails indicate that Debbie Wasserman Schultz used DNC resources to assist her reelection campaign in violation of federal law. My campaign election lawyers are investigating these circumstances and preparing a complaint against Wasserman Schultz with the Federal Election Commission.” As the lawsuit has not yet been filed, it’s pure speculation at this point which specific federal law Canova will cite as being in violation, however his website notes that he was denied access to voter files.

WikiLeaks has said that there are many more e-mails to come, as the site states that these 19,000 emails were only part one of the series. It takes news agencies a long time to pore over that many documents, so more damaging information could appear in the coming days and weeks. No one knows for sure what may happen next, but an invisible dark cloud now hangs over what was supposed to be a celebratory occasion at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

*Featured image via Flickr user Gage Skidmore