Leaked Emails Reveal Anti-Bernie Bias at DNC

Bernie Sanders was right when he claimed that supposedly neutral Democratic National Committee officials had a strong pro-Hillary bias, according emails WikiLeaks has released just ahead of the party's convention. In some of the almost 20,000 emails put online Friday, top DNC officials mock the Sanders campaign and suggest ways of creating anti-Sanders narratives for the media, the New York Times reports. In one exchange, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz dismisses Sanders' chances when discussing a CNN story about his promise to oust her if elected president. "This is a silly story," she wrote. "He isn't going to be president." In other emails, officials describe the Vermont senator's campaign as "a mess."

In another exchange, DNC CFO Brad Marshall talks about bringing up the religious beliefs of an unnamed person who sounds a lot like Sanders. "It might may [sic] no difference, but for KY and WVA can we get someone to ask his belief," Marshall writes. "Does he believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist." The Washington Post reports that the leaked emails, which can be viewed and searched here, also include plenty of details about the party's internal operations, including the convention perks provided to big donors. (More Bernie Sanders stories.)