Tim Hunter of Gardiner sues the Democratic National Committee; alleges bias towards Clinton

Tim Hunter. (photo by Lauren Thomas)

Local activist and musician Tim Hunter, who once sung protest songs at Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino when the latter visited New Paltz, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and its chairman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Hunter claims that Schultz and the DNC have been biased toward presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, a violation of the committee’s own by-laws which reduces the value of his own contributions to the Bernie Sanders campaign. He is asking for a full accounting of how money has been raised and spent in support of candidate Clinton in his suit. He also wants his money back. In papers filed June 6 in Albany, Hunter writes that the role of the DNC “has been to remain neutral between competing contenders for the nomination to be their general election candidate, and wait until the Democratic National Convention, which Article 2 Section 2 of the DNC bylaws call ‘the highest authority of the Democratic Party.'” Hunter said that he’s donated $189 to Sanders — in $27 chunks — which cannot compare to the millions raised by joint fundraising committees such as the Hillary Victory Fund. “The setup allows Clinton to solicit checks of $350,000 or more from her super-rich supporters at extravagant fundraisers, including a dinner at George Clooney’s house and a concert at Radio City Music Hall featuring Katy Perry and Elton John,” Hunter writes in the complaint, quoting from an article in Politico. Further, “most of the $23.3 million spent directly by the victory fund has gone toward expenses that appear to have directly benefited Clinton’s campaign, including $2.8 million for ‘salary and overhead’ and $8.6 million for web advertising that mostly looks indistinguishable from Clinton campaign ads.” The relief Hunter seeks includes having an “impartial qualified outside party do a complete accounting of all funds that the DNC has collected and how it was spent,” as well as acknowledgment that members of the committee have “been aiding the Clinton campaign in monetary and non-monetary ways.” Additionally, he seeks some equity in the form of the Sanders campaign being awarded funds equal to however much was used to benefit the Clinton campaign. In the alternative, Hunter said he’d accept a check from the DNC for $189. All this must be accomplished before the July 25 convention. If that can’t happen, Hunter is asking that a judge delay the convention’s start until this matter is settled.