[H]ours before Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin announced that he was skipping over hometown hero Bernie Sanders to endorse Hillary Clinton for president, Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook informed the candidate and her top advisers of the good news.
“I just talked to the Gov and his Political Dir. He called Bernie a few hours ago and said he’s endorsing you, Madame Secretary,” Mook wrote in the email, one of many made public by Wikileaks from the account of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta. “It will be public at 3:30 today.”
Mook went on to call Shumlin’s endorsement “a bold move,” adding that “apparently Jane Sanders has now called him twice and begged him to change his mind and he’s stood firm.”
Shumlin announced his endorsement of Clinton the same day Sanders announced details of his presidential campaign kickoff on the Burlington waterfront.
After the email was leaked last week, Jane Sanders sounded off on Twitter, calling Shumlin’s endorsement “worthless” and saying the timing of it represented “pathetic crass politics.”
1st, I don’t beg. Knew Gov Shumlin endorsement of HRC worthless,told him his timing as @BernieSanders announced was pathetic crass politics. https://t.co/3rCf5KPpE5
— Jane O’Meara Sanders (@janeosanders) October 20, 2016
Shumlin spokesman Scott Coriell declined to comment on Jane Sanders’ indictment, saying in an email “We’re not commenting on WikiLeaks or the governor’s private conversations.”
Other leaked Podesta emails show Shumlin was a key point of contact for Team Clinton on Vermont political developments.
A June 2015 email exchange discussed an impending Sanders endorsement from the Vermont chapter of the National Education Association.
After the a Clinton labor adviser floated the potential endorsement, Mook said he would consult the governor.
“I agree w you that this is distressing I will bring up w Shumlin too,” Mook wrote on June 19, 2015. “Talking to him tomorrow.”
A separate Clinton email chain from April 29 — the day Sanders made his presidential intentions public — suggested that Shumlin had shared contact information of state legislators with the campaign as they looked to gather Clinton endorsements.
“We are following up with calls to their personal cells which the Governor’s office also provided,” wrote Brynne Craig, Clinton’s deputy national political director.
Jane Sanders also popped up in a Feb. 7 campaign email chain between Clinton’s top advisers regarding potential attacks on Bernie Sanders.
“His ideas are too extreme/he has a history of wacky ideas,” wrote Mandy Grunwald, a political consultant for Clinton. “He’s a socialist which means his model is 50-60% tax rates and expanded government.”
Grunwald added: “He’s not who he says he is — gun votes, DSCC money, Jane.”
It’s unclear what Grunwald meant by referencing Jane, and the Clinton campaign did not respond to requests for clarification.
Reached by phone, Jane Sanders also declined to comment about the Shumlin endorsement or the leaked emails.
