Democratic convention begins amid leaked email controversy

< Previous

1 of 10

Next >

Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders arrives prior to the start of Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 25, 2016. Die-hard Bernie Sanders supporters descended on Philadelphia for this week's Democratic National Convention, many so irate with party flagbearer Hillary Clinton that they are prepared to contemplate the once-inconceivable alternative: President Donald Trump SAUL LOEB / AFP

Delegates react during Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 25, 2016. Die-hard Bernie Sanders supporters descended on Philadelphia for this week's Democratic National Convention, many so irate with party flagbearer Hillary Clinton that they are prepared to contemplate the once-inconceivable alternative: President Donald Trump. Robyn BECK / AFP

United States (U.S.) Democrats yesterday opened their national convention. They were set to affirm former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, as the party’s 2016 presidential nominee, but embroiled in controversy over leaked emails that show how Democratic party leaders sought to ease her path to the nomination by mocking her challenger, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, head of the Democratic National Committee, was pushed out of the post on Sunday in the aftermath of the WikiLeaks disclosure of nearly 20,000 emails. She was jeered yesterday by Sanders’ supporters as she spoke to a group of delegates from her home state of Florida, where she is a congresswoman, but did not talk about the emails.

Schultz told the gathering she had gladly accepted Clinton’s offer to be a campaign surrogate for her in the coming months, after leaving as party chief at the end of the four-day convention.

Sanders, a democratic socialist who waged a tough months-long campaign against Clinton before she claimed the nomination, said he was outraged by the email disclosures that disparaged him. He added that they justified his long claims that party officials favoured Clinton in her quest to become the country’s first female president.

Sanders endorsed Clinton and was set to deliver a key address for her as the convention convened yesterday in the eastern city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The U.S president’s wife, Michelle Obama and a progressive Democratic favorite, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, also made the case for Clinton in her race against Republican Donald Trump, the billionaire real estate mogul, who claimed his party’s nomination last week.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said yesterday it was probing what it described as a “cyber intrusion” at the Democratic headquarters, which resulted in the WikiLeaks disclosures, to “hold accountable those who pose a threat.”

Democratic officials say the emails were hacked from their official computers by “Russian state actors,” a claim some U.S. computer experts say was possible, but a contention mocked by Trump.

Trump has commented about the Russian leader, saying President Vladmir Putin exhibits more strength as a world leader than U.S. President Obama.