Perkins Coie’s Marc Elias, who has juggled legal roles for both the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee, saw the intersecting interests of both clients unexpectedly become public on Friday with the leak of thousands of DNC emails posted by Wikileaks.
The emails, including at least one authored by Elias, have roiled the Democratic Party nomination process because they indicate that some DNC officials tried to sabotage Bernie Sanders’ campaign. DNC chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned on Sunday over the controversy, and she was loudly heckled by Sanders supporters during an appearance on Monday at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
At least five Perkins Coie lawyers, including Elias, who is the general counsel for Clinton’s campaign, and Democratic Party mainstay Robert Bauer, are included in email exchanges in which DNC staffers discuss strategy. In one email, Elias, the chair of Perkins Coie’s political law practice, urged DNC officials to attack Sanders for allegedly lying when Sanders accused the DNC of improperly using campaign funds to help Clinton.