Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Class Action Calls DNC ‘The Ultimate Ponzi Scheme’

Class Action Calls DNC ‘The Ultimate Ponzi Scheme’
by Ian Mason 20 Jun 2017Fort Lauderdale, FL
Backers of Bernie Sanders are suing the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for fraud based on last summer’s hacks revealing systemic bias for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary campaign.

The class-action lawsuit, Wilding v. DNC Services Corp., is underway in federal court in Florida, where it is awaiting a ruling on the DNC’s motion to dismiss heard in April. The plaintiff class, Bernie donors who also gave money to the DNC under the assumption of its impartiality in the 2016 primary contest between Clinton and Sanders. The suit alleges fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and a consumer protection violation.

The claims are based on the celebrated leaked emails and memos from the “Guccifer 2.0” hacks last June. The leaks appear to show direct assistance of Secretary Clinton to the detriment of Senator Sanders. The novel legal theory is based on the donors having been duped by the DNC’s claims of impartiality.

Attorney Jared Beck of Beck & Lee Trial Lawyers, the firm representing the class of Bernie supporters, spoke with Breitbart News about the developing case and the surrounding controversies.

The entire case shot into the public eye when, according to a notice Beck & Lee filed with the court, their office received a call asking for information about the case from a person using a voice-altering device. A quick lookup of the number revealed it was from a number associated with the congressional office of DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL). The DNC’s attorney’s quickly denied any knowledge of the incident, claim the number is from an unused office and is possibly the result of number “spoofing” by an outside source.

Asked about the call, Beck told Breitbart News:

The incident was startling at the time it happened and we are still very puzzled and concerned by it.  The caller had altered his or her voice to be unrecognizable, and refused to identify themselves.  But please understand that this is just one in a number of disturbing events that have occurred throughout the case … I have no idea who was behind the call, but according to the Defendants, the matter has been referred to the Capitol Police.

As for the case itself, Beck was confident that general common law principles of fraud and misrepresentation could sustain the Bernie-donors’ claim. “If there is anything “new,” it is the application of these principles to the sphere of political campaigns,” he said.

Beck went on to describe that application as follows:

One might view this application as a natural consequence of Citizens United – an opinion that crystallizes campaign contributions as the quintessential form of American political participation.  By equating political participation with financial contribution, Citizens United, by inference, incorporates all of the common-law principles of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, etc. that typically govern in the economic sphere. Americans have a cognizable interest in the transparent and fair conduct of primary campaigns precisely because they, through their campaign contributions, are also financiers of the campaign.

Asked to make an analogy to a more traditional case of fraud outside the political realm, Beck compared the DNC’s actions with a “Ponzi-scheme,” in which investors buy in based on fraudulent returns that are really just earlier investors:

I would think of this as a case against the ultimate political Ponzi scheme. We are used to the concept of Ponzi schemes in the investment world. In my view, the DNC is really no different: it was purporting to be “selling” a fair primary process but in reality was serving as a front for the Hillary Clinton campaign. People lost well over $200 million as a result.

Beck told Breitbart News that there bringing the facts of the DNC’s conduct to light:

There are two main goals to the litigation: obtaining justice for our clients through whatever legal remedies are available; and having a trial on the issues, so that the public may know the truth of what happened with respect to the 2016 Democratic nominating process.

The circumstances by which the DNC leaks came to light, allegedly by hacks by Russian government agents, has been a major public controversy for nearly a year. If the case survives the motion to dismiss, discovery will begin, potentially bringing a trove of new information to light about the DNC’s internal operations and how they came to be the apparent victim of Russian hacking.

Beck was optimistic about the prospects for discovery:

If we do get to the discovery phase, I think it is safe to say that we expect to find much more evidence of the DNC’s misconduct, with the publicly released material being only the tip of the iceberg.  Also, we will be able to place all of the material witnesses under oath and take their depositions.  In addition, we will be able to conduct discovery on the question of how the DNC’s internal documents came to be placed into the public domain by Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks, which may ultimately be the most important question of all.

It is unclear when the court will rule on the motion to dismiss but Judge William Zloch told the parties in April it would “take some time.”

Guccifer
Marcel Lazar Lehel (Nick name Guccifer) hacked Sidney Blumenthal’s emails.

Note: Sidney Blumenthal’s emails were hacked by Marcel Lazar Lehel (Nick name Guccifer), was a consultant for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, a consultant for the American Bridge 21st Century, is a consultant for the Media Matters for America and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s friend & confidant.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the Center for American Progress, the Center for International Policy and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, a co-chair, national finance council for the Ready PAC (Ready For Hillary), was a contributor for the American Bridge 21st Century, the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a supporter for the Center for American Progress and Nancy Pelosi was invited to his 2013 wedding reception.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Media Matters for America, the Center for American Progress and the Center for International Policy.
Brad Woodhouse was the president of the American Bridge 21st Century and a communications director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Tony Rodham was an employee for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and is Hillary Rodham Clinton’s brother.
Eric Alterman was a senior fellow at the Media Matters for America and is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
Shirley Sagawa is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and was Hillary Rodham Clinton’s deputy chief of staff.
Richard R. Verma was a fellow at the Center for American Progress, a director at the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s principal adviser.
Clyde Williams was a VP for the Center for American Progress and a political director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Jennifer M. Palmieri was a SVP for the Center for American Progress, a communications director for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a national press secretary for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Clyde Williams was a VP for the Center for American Progress and a political director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Madeleine K. Albright is a director at the Center for American Progress, an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy and an advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project.
Michael D. McCurry is an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy, an advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project and was a director of communications for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Gabrielle Giffords is an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy, an advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project, a co-founder for the Americans for Responsible Solutions and a friend of Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Americans for Responsible Solutions is a “Gun Safety, Gun Control” PAC for guns.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a friend of Gabrielle Giffords and was the chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
ActBlue raises funds online for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Darcy Burner was a director at ActBlue, and is a director at the Center for International Policy.
Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Center for International Policy, the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Terence R. McAuliffe was a director at the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and a chairman for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Smith Bagley was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and a finance vice chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Andrew Tobias was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and is the treasurer for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Christopher G. Korge was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a finance vice chairman for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Ready PAC (Ready For Hillary) supported the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign.
Elizabeth Frawley Bagley was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a national advisory board chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Beth E. Dozoretz was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a finance chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Grace Meng was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and is the vice chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Minyon Moore was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign, a guest at Chelsea V. Clinton’s 2010 wedding and a CEO for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Lily Adams was the Iowa communications director for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign, a deputy communications director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and is Cecile Richards’s daughter.
Cecile Richards is Lily Adams’s mother, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and was Nancy Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff.
Philip D. Murphy was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a national finance chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Karen Finney was a communications director for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a communications director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Josh Wachs was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a COO for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Maureen White was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a national finance chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Margaret A. Williams was a transition team co-chair for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s chief of staff and a deputy press secretary for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Richard Sullivan was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a national finance director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Frederick S. Humphries Jr. was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a southern political director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Carol Pensky was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a treasurer for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Tim Kaine was the vice presidential candidate, fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a chairman for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Lee Satterfield was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign, a special assistant for William J. Clinton and a deputy COO for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Alan C. Kessler was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a finance vice chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Marvin S. Rosen was a fundraiser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and a finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Fancy Bear hacked the computers in the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign, hacked the computers in the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and hacked John D. Podesta’s email.
John D. Podesta’s emails were hacked by Fancy Bear, was the campaign chairman for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and is the founder of the Center for American Progress.
Madeleine K. Albright is a director at the Center for American Progress, an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy and an advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project.
Michael D. McCurry is an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy, an advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project and was a director of communications for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Gabrielle Giffords is an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy, an advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project, a co-founder for the Americans for Responsible Solutions and a friend of Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Americans for Responsible Solutions is a “Gun Safety, Gun Control” PAC for guns.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a friend of Gabrielle Giffords and was the chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
ActBlue raises funds online for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Darcy Burner was a director at ActBlue and is a director at the Center for International Policy.
Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Center for International Policy, the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Cecile Richards is the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and was Nancy Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff.
Nancy Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff was Cecile Richards, was invited to George Soros’s 2013 wedding reception, is the minority leader for the U.S. House of Representatives and Christine Pelosi’s mother.
Christine Pelosi is Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, was John F. Tierney’s chief of staff.
John F. Tierney’s chief of staff was Christine Pelosi, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Bernard Sanders is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was the candidate for the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, and a speaker for the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was the nominee for the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
William J. Clinton was a speaker for the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Gabrielle Giffords was a speaker for the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and is a friend of Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a friend of Gabrielle Giffords, was the chair (rescinded) for the 2016 Democratic National Convention and the chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Lily Adams was a deputy communications director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Iowa communications director for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign and is Cecile Richards’s daughter.

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