Subject: Sanders fundraising email: They fell behind, so they're bending the rules
From: "Brinster, Jeremy" <[email-masked]>
To: Comm_D <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2016 11:37:17 -0700

Says Hillary Victory Fund has raised "Tens of millions of dollars put to use to try to defeat us in a primary."

SL: They fell behind, so they're bending the rules

[Bernie Sanders for President]

Here's the truth, Jeremy: since the start of this campaign, a majority of the money raised by the Clinton campaign has come from people giving the maximum amount allowable.

On our side, something happened that no one ever expected. Millions of people came together giving an average of $27 at a time to our campaign, and we actually started raising more money than the most inevitable candidate ever. Not even Wall Street could keep up!

So, as we got closer to the primaries and caucuses, the Clinton campaign had a problem - how were they going to deal with this? They responded as you'd think: they asked the richest of the rich (think Walmart's Alice Walton) to contribute $353,400 to something called the "Hillary Victory Fund," and the majority of the money the "Fund" has spent has gone to support the Clinton campaign in the form of cash transfers, advertising, and efforts to attract new donors. Tens of millions of dollars put to use to try to defeat us in a primary.

It's an arrangement that stretches campaign finance rules to the breaking point or beyond. But it's what we are facing in New York tonight<https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#m_-5417973586959030822_> and in five statesnext week<https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#m_-5417973586959030822_>. And that's why we have to ask:

Contribute $3.53 (1/100,000th of what Alice Walton contributed to the Hillary Victory Fund) to help Bernie Sanders win New York, five states next week, and send a powerful message that you have had ENOUGH of billionaires buying elections.<https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/what-our-campaign-is-up-against?refcode=em160419-full>

What makes this worse, honestly, is the way the Clinton campaign has touted the "Hillary Victory Fund" as a tool to benefit the DNC and state parties.

We've heard it on television, in debates, and they've used it as a line of attack against Bernie repeatedly. But now, that turns out not to be true.

Because of reporting timelines, it wasn't even clear until this week<https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#m_-5417973586959030822_> just how much of the money they've been claiming is going to elect Democrats has actually been spent trying to defeat us. And we won't know again for anotherthree months<https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#m_-5417973586959030822_> how much more of that money they're going to try and use to beat us in New York, five states next week<https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#m_-5417973586959030822_>, and the huge delegate haul on June 7<https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#m_-5417973586959030822_>.

That's why we have to ask:

Contribute $3.53 (1/100,000th of what Alice Walton contributed to the Hillary Victory Fund) to help Bernie Sanders win New York, five states next week, and send a powerful message that you have had ENOUGH of billionaires buying elections.<https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/what-our-campaign-is-up-against?refcode=em160419-full>

This campaign has accomplished more than anyone could have ever imagined when it comes to taking on the corrupting influence of money in politics. Now it seems we have to do even more.

In solidarity,

Jeff Weaver
Campaign Manager
Bernie 2016