Hollywood, FL – Following Tim Canova’s filing of a Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) Complaint against Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Ryan Banfill, her Communications Director responded by stating:
 
"Once again, the Congresswoman's opponent is wasting her constituents' time with attacks based on stolen, cherry-picked information….”
 
Canova, the Nova Southeastern University law professor running against Wasserman Schultz in an August 30th Democratic primary, responded with the following statement, “Again, when pressed with the truth of her misconduct, Wasserman Schultz seeks to attack.  This is an avoidance tactic worthy of Donald Trump, not a member of Congress with a sworn duty to uphold federal election laws.” He added, “She doesn't need a spokesperson, but rather a lawyer.  Unfortunately, Wasserman Schultz is the one wasting constituents' time and money.  Last year, she had the 2nd highest absentee rate of the 27 members of Florida's Congressional delegation.  Instead, she spent her time engaged in shameful misconduct as chair of the DNC.”  
 
“Wasserman Shultz’s team doesn’t deny or even attempt to explain their actions that clearly show the DNC illegally contributing to the Wasserman-Schultz re-election campaign,” said Richard Bell, Tim Canova’s Chief of Staff.  “Instead, she employs a spokesperson, Ryan Banfill, who is one of the key people at the heart of our FEC complaint – having served both the DNC and the Wasserman Schultz campaign and coordinated the activities of both organizations, while also acting as a consultant to predatory payday lenders, themselves key donors to her past campaigns."
 
Canova also pointed out that his FEC complaint asserts that Wasserman Schultz had an obligation to institute a firewall between her campaign and the DNC, but instead used her position with the DNC and the resources of the DNC to improperly benefit her congressional campaign.  Under her direction, the DNC paid a team of communications and political professionals significant sums of money for their consulting services and the Wasserman Schultz campaign utilized these services free of charge in violation of federal election and campaign finance laws.
 
Canova concluded, "The Wikileaks disclosures reveal a pattern of Debbie Wasserman Schultz saying one thing while doing another.  She has apparently learned nothing from her disgraceful downfall from the DNC.”
 

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