WikiLeaks has released a document that supposedly outlines three strategies for the Clinton campaign to manipulate the results of the GOP primaries. The idea is that Clinton’s campaign would “elevate” the “Pied Piper” candidates. In other words, promote the more extreme candidates, specifically, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Donald Trump, to the disadvantage of more moderate candidates. Backing the Republican field into the extreme right corner would make it harder for them to appeal to moderates in the general election campaign.
There are specific areas on which to undermine each of several likely contenders, including Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, and Bobby Jindal.
Where’s The Evidence?
In support of its theory, Wikileaks tweeted what it says is a memo from the Clinton campaign to the Democratic National Committee (DNC):
Wikileaks’ two tweets use slightly different language, but the message is the same.
Hillary Clinton, in a political game of chicken, ordered her team & its press contacts to elevate Donald Trump https://t.co/mBuVIfldGe
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 9, 2016
Clinton team instructed DNC with strategic goal of "elevating" Trump two months before he declared his candidacy https://t.co/DAmWNq9K0f pic.twitter.com/mrGTyCycSu
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 9, 2016
The tweet describes the memo as instructing, or even ordering, the DNC to work with the media to get this done. But there are some big gaps in the evidence. Here is the memo.
Take a close look. First, notice what’s missing. There is no indication of the author of the memo — or the organization (if any) that the author represented. Memos have a From: line as well as a To: line. Because the author isn’t identified, we don’t know that this document actually came from the Clinton campaign.
Second, the language does not reflect an order, or even instructions. It is framed as thought on the strategy a potential Clinton campaign might use. It discusses what “we need” to be doing. But that’s as close to directive as the memo gets.
Here’s how it ends:
“Again, we think our goals mirror those of the DNC. We look forward to continuing the conversation.”
What Did WikiLeaks Actually Prove?
One thing that’s clear is that some one who anticipated being part of the Clinton campaign approached the DNC about cooperation, or even coordination. But it’s wrong to say that anyone on Clinton’s team was giving orders then.
We also know that the document was altered because neither the author’s name nor his or her affiliation appears. We know we don’t have all of it. Although the material may be genuine, it’s not complete. So we don’t know if it’s accurate. And it’s also rather tame compared to the later revelations about how the DNC treated the Sanders campaign. Nice try, WikiLeaks.
Image via Wikipedia.