Hollywood, FL – Following the Wikileaks release of over 19,000 emails which forced Debbie Wasserman Schultz to resign from the Democratic National Committee (“DNC”), Tim Canova, her Democratic primary challenger for Florida’s 23^rd Congressional district, will file on Monday, August 8, a Federal Elections Commission (“FEC”) Complaint against Wasserman Schultz asserting that she illegally utilized DNC resources to undermine his campaign.
 
The Complaint asserts that, “Wasserman Schultz had a fiduciary duty to the DNC and ultimately to the public to be a fair arbitrator and to separate her obligations as a candidate for federal office from her position as chair of a national committee.”  Additionally, the Complaint states, “She had a legal obligation to institute a firewall between her campaign and the DNC. Instead, the record establishes that she used her position with the DNC and the resources of the DNC to improperly benefit her congressional campaign.”
 
“The emails establish that on numerous occasions the DNC, under Wasserman Schultz's direction and control, used its resources to track my campaign, interfere with my campaign events and to assist the Wasserman Schultz campaign in her personal communications strategy,” said Canova.
 
The Complaint further alleges that “The DNC paid a team of national, senior communications and political professionals significant sums of money for their consulting services and the Wasserman Schultz for Congress Campaign utilized these services free of charge.”
 
According to Canova, “The FEC now has the authority to conduct an investigation of Wasserman Schultz’s use of DNC resources for her Congressional campaign. The emails alone establish a pattern of wholly improper conduct on the part of Wasserman Schultz and clear violations of federal elections and campaign finance laws.” Canova added that “She repeatedly used her position as DNC chair for unfair advantage for her congressional campaign.  She sought to use DNC resources to appropriate party fundraising opportunities for herself.  And she abused her authority by bullying the media to stifle negative reporting on her divisive conduct at the DNC and to encourage positive reporting on her congressional campaign. Wasserman Schultz’s conduct while head of the DNC reflects poorly on her judgment and character, and has unfortunately brought shame and disgrace to our district here in South Florida.”
 
“The people of South Florida are facing many real challenges, including an unforgiving jobs market and weak economy, deteriorating infrastructure and inadequate transit systems, a growing environmental crisis and mounting threats to our aquifer and drinking water, and much more,” said Canova. “My campaign is speaking to the issues and listening to the people.  And that’s why Wasserman Schultz has tried to stifle my campaign and our progressive movement.”
 
Canova concluded, “For months, Debbie Wasserman Schultz pretended to be unaware and unconcerned about my campaign. But as we grew, the emails show she was quite concerned.  Even as she dodged calls for debates and public forums, she spent plenty of time with her DNC staff monitoring my campaign and strategizing on how to crush it.  She should have spent less time attacking my campaign with DNC resources and more time representing the actual people of my district -- which is, after all, supposed to be her full-time job in Washington.”
 
Last year, Debbie Wasserman Schultz had the highest absentee rate of all Florida Congressional Democrats.  

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