US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will take on rival Bernie Sanders at the third Democratic debate late Saturday, amid accusations that a data breach was carried out by his camp.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) temporarily suspended the Sanders campaign's access to a key voter database after at least one of its staffers took advantage of a computer glitch to peek at Clinton voter data.
The debate, which also includes former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley -- who polls far behind his two rivals -- will be held at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Sunday) in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Hosted by television network ABC, the occasion marks the first debate since the deadly attacks on San Bernardino, California, which killed 14 people.
National security and foreign affairs are expected to dominate the evening -- both of which are weak points for Sanders, who is more comfortable talking about economic inequality and financial abuse, topics that are the cornerstones of his campaign.
Before the data breach the week had gone well for Sanders, who broke a record by reaching two million mostly small donations. No Democratic or Republican presidential candidate has ever received so many contributions at this stage in the race.
Clinton, who has raised much more money than Sanders, has depended on large checks from big donors.
Sanders on Thursday also received his biggest labor endorsement to date from the 700,000 member Communications Workers of America (CWA).
But with security taking center stage at the debate, Clinton benefits from the four years she spent as US secretary of state (2009-2013).
Clinton reassured voters in a speech at Minneapolis on Tuesday that she would destroy the Islamic State group but not launch a ground war in the Middle East. She also highlighted the differences with her Republican foes, notably front runner Donald Trump and his incendiary statements.
Sanders, however, is likely remind viewers of Clinton's 2002 vote when she was New York senator authorizing president George W. Bush's use of military force in Iraq.
- Data breach -
In national polls among Democrats, Sanders has 31 percent support, a number that has remained constant since early November. Clinton's support in the mid-50s.
poll numbers made the DNC's temporary ban on the Sanders campaign's use of the voter database seem like it would undercut any hopes of scoring an upset over Clinton.
The database includes nationwide information on voters, data vital to plan campaign strategy.
Sanders filed a 12-page lawsuit against the DNC to regain access to the data on Friday. His campaign also fired a staffer for peeking at Clinton campaign information.
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said an investigation would continue to make sure that any poached data has been erased.
"We are pleased that the Sanders campaign has agreed to submit to an independent audit to determine the full extent of the intrusion its staff carried out earlier this week," Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.
The Sanders campaign said that the DNC's move to block its access amounted to favoritism for Clinton.
"There are some people in (the DNC) who are clearly trying to help the Clinton campaign," Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver said on MSNBC Friday.
Weaver suggested further favoritism when pointed out that the DNC has scheduled few debates for the party candidates, and most of the debates were scheduled for the weekend, when viewership is low and any risk to Clinton can be minimized.
Data and IT are uncomfortable topics for Clinton, who was the center of an uproar after it was revealed that she used a personal email account while serving as secretary of state.
Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri told CNN Saturday that her candidate did not intend to spend much time discussing the data breach.
Clinton "has put forward a lot of plans in terms of how we're going to deal with ISIS, keep the country safe," Palmieri said, using an acronym for the IS group.
The data breach "was very intentional, targeted. These people knew what they were doing," Palmieri said.
US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will take on rival Bernie Sanders at the third Democratic debate late Saturday, amid accusations that a data breach was carried out by his camp.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) temporarily suspended the Sanders campaign’s access to a key voter database after at least one of its staffers took advantage of a computer glitch to peek at Clinton voter data.
The debate, which also includes former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley — who polls far behind his two rivals — will be held at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Sunday) in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Hosted by television network ABC, the occasion marks the first debate since the deadly attacks on San Bernardino, California, which killed 14 people.
National security and foreign affairs are expected to dominate the evening — both of which are weak points for Sanders, who is more comfortable talking about economic inequality and financial abuse, topics that are the cornerstones of his campaign.
Before the data breach the week had gone well for Sanders, who broke a record by reaching two million mostly small donations. No Democratic or Republican presidential candidate has ever received so many contributions at this stage in the race.
Clinton, who has raised much more money than Sanders, has depended on large checks from big donors.
Sanders on Thursday also received his biggest labor endorsement to date from the 700,000 member Communications Workers of America (CWA).
But with security taking center stage at the debate, Clinton benefits from the four years she spent as US secretary of state (2009-2013).
Clinton reassured voters in a speech at Minneapolis on Tuesday that she would destroy the Islamic State group but not launch a ground war in the Middle East. She also highlighted the differences with her Republican foes, notably front runner Donald Trump and his incendiary statements.
Sanders, however, is likely remind viewers of Clinton’s 2002 vote when she was New York senator authorizing president George W. Bush’s use of military force in Iraq.
– Data breach –
In national polls among Democrats, Sanders has 31 percent support, a number that has remained constant since early November. Clinton’s support in the mid-50s.
poll numbers made the DNC’s temporary ban on the Sanders campaign’s use of the voter database seem like it would undercut any hopes of scoring an upset over Clinton.
The database includes nationwide information on voters, data vital to plan campaign strategy.
Sanders filed a 12-page lawsuit against the DNC to regain access to the data on Friday. His campaign also fired a staffer for peeking at Clinton campaign information.
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said an investigation would continue to make sure that any poached data has been erased.
“We are pleased that the Sanders campaign has agreed to submit to an independent audit to determine the full extent of the intrusion its staff carried out earlier this week,” Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.
The Sanders campaign said that the DNC’s move to block its access amounted to favoritism for Clinton.
“There are some people in (the DNC) who are clearly trying to help the Clinton campaign,” Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver said on MSNBC Friday.
Weaver suggested further favoritism when pointed out that the DNC has scheduled few debates for the party candidates, and most of the debates were scheduled for the weekend, when viewership is low and any risk to Clinton can be minimized.
Data and IT are uncomfortable topics for Clinton, who was the center of an uproar after it was revealed that she used a personal email account while serving as secretary of state.
Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri told CNN Saturday that her candidate did not intend to spend much time discussing the data breach.
Clinton “has put forward a lot of plans in terms of how we’re going to deal with ISIS, keep the country safe,” Palmieri said, using an acronym for the IS group.
The data breach “was very intentional, targeted. These people knew what they were doing,” Palmieri said.
