Obama Camp Complains to Nevada Dems

(WASHINGTON) — Barack Obama's presidential campaign complained in a letter to the Nevada Democratic Party Wednesday that rival Hillary Rodham Clinton benefited from numerous violations of party rules during the state's caucuses on Saturday.

Clinton won the caucuses' popular vote by a margin of 51 percent to 45 percent. Under complicated delegate allocation rules, however, Obama could receive 13 delegates to Clinton's 12.

The letter to Nevada Democratic Chairwoman Jill Derby from Obama lawyer Robert Bauer lists instances of early door closings, obstruction of voters, and improper handling of voter preference cards. Obama aides said the campaign has received more than 1,600 complaints, including 300 that came in to a hotline at the time of the caucuses.

Bauer said the campaign is not challenging the outcome of the caucuses at the precinct level, but he asked Derby to conduct an inquiry into the Clinton campaign tactics during the caucuses. The campaign offered to provide the names and contact information of the individuals making the complaints as well as unedited copies of their accounts.

The Clinton campaign has also complained about behavior at the caucuses. On Sunday, Clinton senior adviser Dave Barnhart said he witnessed an enormous "gantlet" of Obama supporters at the Mirage casino-hotel caucus site who tried to intimidate Clinton backers.

Attached to the Obama complaint was an instruction sheet that Bauer's letter attributed to the Clinton campaign. The sheet offers guidance on how to persuade caucus goers to caucus for Clinton.

One line states: "It's not illegal unless they tell you so."

"This certainly suggests that, for the Clinton campaign, the operative standard was, simply and only, what it could get away with," Bauer wrote.

The letter complained that the Clinton camp distributed a caucus guide to supporters that said caucus site doors would close at 11:30 a.m. The party's rules stated that caucuses would be called to order at 11:30 a.m. but said attendees had to be signed in by noon.

Neither the Clinton campaign nor the Nevada Democratic Party had an immediate response to the Obama campaign letter.

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