April McCullum

The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Bernie Sanders says a provocative new memoir from the former leader of the Democratic National Committee shows the party needs a "fair and transparent political process" to avoid repeating past failures.

The independent Vermont senator wrote to his supporters Monday to rally support for his proposed changes to the Democratic Party, including fewer superdelegates, more accessible primaries and caucuses, and more transparency about how the party makes decisions.

To make his case, Sanders referenced an excerpt of a new book by the former interim chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Donna Brazile.

Brazile alleges that Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign signed an agreement to influence Democratic finances, strategy and financial decisions in August 2015, while Clinton and Sanders were vying for the Democratic nomination for president.

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"If the fight had been fair, one campaign would not have control of the party before the voters had decided which one they wanted to lead," Brazile wrote, according to an excerpt published by Politico on Nov. 2. "This was not a criminal act, but as I saw it, it compromised the party’s integrity."

Brazile wrote that she revealed the arrangement to Sanders in September 2016, and that Sanders took the news "stoically."

In his message to supporters Monday, Sanders referenced Brazile's account without directly commenting on the details.

"What the recently released book excerpt from former interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile made clear," Sanders wrote, "is that unless we get our act together, we are not going to be effective in either taking on Donald Trump or in stopping the extremist right-wing Republican agenda.

"We have to re-establish faith with the American people that in fact we can make positive changes in this country through a fair and transparent political process that reflects the will of voters across this country," Sanders continued.

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Sanders could not be reached for further comment Tuesday.

Brazile's account has inflamed resentments within the Democratic Party among established party officials and Sanders loyalists. Sanders and his staff have downplayed the controversy as a distraction and political gossip.

"People are hurting in this country, and our job is not to be distracted by political gossip and Donald Trump's tweets," Sanders wrote Monday.

Jeff Weaver, former campaign manager during Sanders' run for president, has spoken at length about the book in television appearances. He called the Brazile allegations "maddening" in an appearance Friday on MSNBC.

"I think the DNC should apologize to the millions and millions of people who put their heart and souls into the campaign on both sides, frankly," Weaver said. "There are many people out there who campaigned for Hillary thinking that it was a fair process. It was not a fair process."

Weaver said a reform commission in the Democratic Party will hold its final meeting at the beginning of December. He did not answer a question about whether Sanders would become a Democrat.

Follow April McCullum on Twitter: @April_McCullum

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