Proof Record

Violation: A Coordinated Campaign to Suppress Dissent

Once installed via a flawed process, the Affirmative Action Committee leadership waged a systematic campaign to silence opposition, a strategy advised by a DNC official. The evidence shows this campaign involved three tactics: first, executing a coordinated smear campaign to discredit dissenting minority leaders; second, unilaterally nullifying a democratic vote to exclude those same leaders from subcommittees; and third, using procedural manipulation to circumvent party rules and consolidate control.

Lacking the legitimacy of a fair and open formation, the newly installed Affirmative Action Committee leadership resorted to a systematic campaign to entrench its power and silence opposition. With strategic advice from a DNC official to 'outvote' dissenters, the leadership executed a multi-pronged attack. This involved coordinated smear campaigns to discredit minority caucus leaders, the unilateral nullification of democratic votes, and the repeated use of deceptive procedural tactics—such as mislabeling bylaws and installing a biased presider—to overturn outcomes they disagreed with. This was not governance; it was a coordinated effort to undermine the committee's democratic function.
Proofs documented 5 Across this record

Record Metadata

Timeframe
August–September 2021
Focus
AAC Governance, Procedural Violations, Suppression of Members
Primary Documents
Committee Emails & Transcripts, WVDP Appeals Board Ruling

Key Findings

  • A DNC official advised a non-voting appointee on a strategy to 'outvote' and neutralize elected, dissenting members from minority caucuses.
  • Leadership executed a coordinated smear campaign, scripting personal attacks for others to deliver and spreading damaging rumors to isolate dissenters.
  • Democratic outcomes were systematically subverted through procedural manipulation, including nullifying votes and using an external actor with an undisclosed conflict of interest.

Documented Violations

2 incidents traced in this record

Violation: A DNC-Advised Smear Campaign

In an email, a committee co-chair recounted DNC official Harold Ickes' admission that he 'advised Selina [Vickers] to 'outvote' Seth, Mari, and others.'

A DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee member, whose role was to ensure fair supervision, instead provided strategic advice to the unelected Parliamentarian on how to neutralize the votes of elected minority caucus leaders. This strategy was then executed through a multi-pronged smear campaign involving covertly scripted personal attacks and overt public accusations.

ConsequenceA hostile environment was created to intimidate, isolate, and neutralize the voices of specific elected minority members, fulfilling the DNC official's strategic advice.

  • A DNC official advised a non-voting appointee on how to politically sideline elected committee members.
  • The Parliamentarian scripted a point-by-point rebuttal for another member to use against a dissenter, with instructions to conceal her authorship.
  • A dissenting co-chair was targeted with a 'vicious rumor' that he was a 'dangerous person capable of violence.'
  • Another member launched a public social media campaign, labeling a dissenter a 'toxic bully and AA committee saboteur.'

Related proofs

Violation: Procedural Manipulation to Overturn Democratic Outcomes

After the full committee voted for an inclusive subcommittee system, leadership unilaterally declared that 'subcommittee membership will be by appointment' and excluded the chairs of the Indigenous and Black caucuses.

Leadership repeatedly used procedural tactics to subvert the committee's democratic will. This included nullifying a valid vote, mislabeling bylaws as 'procedural rules' to evade the 30-day notice requirement, and installing an external presider with an undisclosed conflict of interest to force through previously rejected measures. These actions were not administrative errors, but a calculated pattern of manipulation.

ConsequenceDemocratic outcomes were systematically overturned. Members were disenfranchised through a pattern of unethical procedural tactics designed to consolidate leadership's control.

  • Leadership ignored a democratic vote for a volunteer-based system, imposed an appointment-only system, and excluded minority chairs.
  • An expert in procedural tactics deliberately mislabeled bylaws to circumvent the party's 30-day notice rule, denying members time for review.
  • Leadership installed an external presider without disclosing his business partnership with the committee's Parliamentarian.
  • Under this conflicted presider, the committee passed restrictive rules it had previously rejected in open debate.

Related proofs

A Pattern of Unethical Power Consolidation

The evidence documents a methodical campaign to entrench power and silence dissent. The combination of high-level strategic advice, personal attacks, and repeated procedural manipulation demonstrates that these actions were not legitimate governance but a coordinated effort to undermine the committee's democratic function.

Proofs in this Record

5 curated proofs

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