Clinton must address data breach in Dem debate

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the first debate of the Democratic presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders dismissed concerns about Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email account and server while she served as secretary of state, saying Americans were tired of talking about her “damn emails.”

As the candidates take the stage for their last match-up of the year, will Clinton, the Democratic Party front-runner in the 2016 presidential campaign, return the favor?

Friday’s revelations that four members of Sanders’ campaign staff improperly accessed voter information compiled by Clinton’s campaign shook up what had been a relatively civil race. It is a development that has the potential to transform a sleepy Saturday night debate into something far livelier.

The question facing Clinton is how forcefully to confront Sanders about the actions of his campaign staff and whether to defend the reaction of the Democratic National Committee, which cut off Sanders’ access to the party’s voter database after learning of the breach.

At the center of the dispute is an extensive trove of voter information maintained by the DNC. The campaigns are able to add their own information to that database, information they use to target voters and anticipate what issues might motivate them to cast ballots.

In Clinton’s case, campaign manager Robby Mook said the information stored in the database and illicitly reviewed by Sanders’ team included “fundamental parts of our strategy.”

Experts said the Sanders campaign employees who accessed the Clinton voter information without authorization appear to have broken the law.