Emails released by Wikileaks appear to show DNC trying to aid Hillary Clinton

Washington: On the eve of the Democratic Party convention at which Hillary Clinton is to be confirmed as the presidential candidate, the party has been plunged into crisis — Wikileaks has released emails from top Democratic National Committee (DNC) officials that appear to show the inner workings of the Democratic Party and what seems to be them attempting to aid the Clinton campaign during the primaries.

In its recent leak of 20,000 DNC emails from January 2015 to May 2016, DNC staff discuss how to deal with Bernie Sanders' popularity as a challenge to Clinton’s candidacy. Instead of treating Sanders as a viable candidate for the Democratic ticket, the DNC worked against him and his campaign to ensure Clinton received the nomination, according to the Observer.

One email from DNC Deputy Communications Director Eric Walker to several DNC staffers cites two news articles showing Sanders leading in Rhode Island and the limited number of polling locations in the state: “If she outperforms this polling, the Bernie camp will go nuts and allege misconduct. They’ll probably complain regardless, actually.”

One email suggests Sanders be questioned on his faith, in the hope of revealing him as an atheist. Instead of treating Sanders with impartiality, the DNC exhibits resentful disdain toward him and the thousands of disenfranchised voters he could have brought into the party.

During the primary battle, Sanders and his supporters accused both the party and Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of putting their thumb on the scale for Clinton and these emails may indicate support for those allegations, according to ABC News.

The emails provides further evidence the DNC broke its own charter violations by favoring Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee, long before any votes were cast.

The DNC had also plotted to embarrass Republican candidate Donald Trump, including drafting a fake ad to recruit “hot women” to work for him, the Syndey Morning Herald reported.

However, this could only be the beginning. A brief introduction to the emails that were released on Twitter with a link to a webpage described them as "part one of our new Hillary Leaks series". There may be more to come.

Over the past several weeks, Guccifer 2.0 has released several internal memos showing DNC staff strategizing to make Clinton the presidential nominee — as early as March 2015. In June 2016, Florida-based law firm, Beck & Lee, filed a class action lawsuit against Wasserman Schultz and the DNC based on the revelations from these leaked files. The DNC did not respond to requests for comment. The Clinton campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told ABC News he was reviewing the documents.

The leak exploded on social media with Sanders supporters expressing anger and frustration that the emails appeared to suggest the party was colluding with the Clinton campaign and plotting against the senator. Some even called on Sanders to revoke his endorsement of the presumptive Democratic nominee.