Texas Officials Say Clinton Aides Threatened Lawsuits
Officials of the Democratic Party in Texas say that aides to Sen. Hillary Clinton threatened to sue the party over its complicated delegate selection process. As a result, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, the party warned the campaigns Thursday that the election scheduled for next Tuesday night could be delayed or disrupted as a result.
"In a letter sent out late Thursday to both the Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns, Texas Democratic Party lawyer Chad Dunn warned a lawsuit could ruin the Democrats' effort to re-energize voters just as they are turning out in record numbers. ..."
"It has been brought to my attention that one or both of your campaigns may already be planning or intending to pursue litigation against the Texas Democratic Party,'' Dunn wrote in the letter, obtained by the paper. "Such action could prove to be a tragedy for a reinvigorated Democratic process.''
Spokesmen for both campaigns said they had no plans to sue before the March 4 primary.
Democratic sources quoted in the article said both camps had concerns over the delegate selection process -- which includes both a popular vote and evening caucuses. But they said the Clinton campaign in particular had threatened legal action.
"Officials from Sen. Clinton's campaign at several times throughout the call raised the specter of 'challenging the process,' an official said. "The call consisted of representatives from both campaigns and the Democratic Party.''
A Clinton spokesperson said that they were only trying to see what they were agreeing to "in writing" before they agreed to it.
Texas has 228 delegates. Only 126 delegates are assigned based on how people vote at the ballot box. Another 67 delegates are apportioned based on the number of people who participate in the caucuses that begin in over 8,000 precincts once the polls close at 7 p.m. Only those voters who can prove they voted in the primaries can participate in the caucus. (The remaining 35 are so-called "superdelegates'.")
Update: Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic.com expands a bit on the article in the Fort Worth Telegram. He writes that he spoke to Guy Cecil, the national political director for the Clinton campaign, and asked if he had "forcefully" raised the prospect of a legal battle.
"Absolutely not. There was no threat, 'direct or veiled' to engage in litigation. We asked that the results of the call be put in writing," he said.
Ambinder thinks that the "the campaign is worried about what happens when the voting stops and the caucus starts and believes that the Texas Democratic Party isn't prepared to run the caucuses competently."
10:40 AM ET | 02-29-2008 | permalink
