Briahna Joy Gray, the National Press Secretary for Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, mounted a curious defense of the Independent Vermont senator’s decision not to release any more medical record, which included an oblique comparison of the issue to things like the Barack Obama “birther” smear and the evidence-free claim that Mike Bloomberg has had multiple “heart attacks in the past.”

On Wednesday morning’s edition of CNN’s New Day, anchor John Berman concluded his interview with Gray by asking about Sanders’ refusal to release complete medical records — in addition to the three doctors’ letters he has already released — after he explicitly promised to do so.

“I have those three letters from the doctors that Sen. Sanders was talking about, there’s nothing in them other than the doctor saying that he’s fit,” Berman said, adding, “He had a heart attack in the fall, do you think the American people deserve to know more about his health going forward?”

“I think the American people deserve to know exactly as much as every other candidate has released in this race, currently, and historically,” Gray said, then added, “And what you’re seeing right now is really reminiscent of some of the kind of smear, kind of skepticism campaigns that have been run against a lot of different candidates in the past. Questioning where they’re from, aspects of their lineage, etc etc.”

“And it’s really telling given that none of the same concern is being demonstrated for Michael Bloomberg, who’s the same age as Bernie Sanders, who has suffered heart attacks in the past,” Gray continued, and called concerns over Sanders’ health a “smear campaign from the likes of Jennifer Rubin, is one that has been beating this drum a lot, Republicans who if they were honest with themselves don’t support Bernie Sanders for other reasons, largely, for the same reasons that millions of working Americans do support Bernie, which is that he supports social programs that prioritize main Street over Wall Street and has, yes, made a lot of enemies in the pharmaceutical industry and the health insurance industry and all of the interest groups is interests are aligned against those of average Americans.”

This claim comes the day after Gray falsely claimed that Bloomberg has faced 64 sexual assault allegations, and there is no evidence that her claim about Bloomberg’s “heart attacks” are true.

However, Bloomberg did undergo a stent procedure in 2000 “after Mr. Bloomberg complained of discomfort and tiredness,” according to the Bloomberg-friendly source who spoke to the New York Times about it in 2007. That also means New Yorkers and the public were unaware of Bloomberg’s heart problem for a full seven years.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]