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What is the role of the Democratic National Committee in presidential elections? Is it to sway the vote toward a safe, solid and respected insider who will supposedly drive the party straight into the White House, or is it to provide voters the ultimate decision as to which campaign will take the ballot, without any bias or partiality?

That is the question at the heart of a class-action lawsuit charging the Democratic National Committee with fraud, deceptive conduct and negligent misrepresentation over the course of the 2016 primaries, in which Vermont SenatorBernie Sanders was defeated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the Democratic ticket. Jared Beck, a Harvard law expert and one of the attorneys backing the suit, has demanded the DNC repay its donors and Sanders supporters for contributions made throughout the election, citing a misappropriation of public funds.

Related: Was the 2016 Election Rigged Against Bernie Sanders?

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Article 5, Section 4 of the DNCs charter states the organization will operate with total neutrality throughout the course of the Democratic primaries. Court documents revealthe organization'slawyers made a lengthy case suggesting impartiality isnothingmore than a political promise, howevereven though the defense claimed it did not support any specific campaign over another.

Did the DNC rig the election for Hillary Clinton? A class action lawsuit demands retribution for Bernie Sanders' supporters who donated to his campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election. Reuters

If the lawsuit gets past a pending motion to dismiss the case, currently under consideration with no specific time frame by afederal judge in southern Florida (with a hard-liner reputation on squashing corruption), Sanderssupporters have a chance of fundamentally shaping how the DNC and the Democratic Party conduct their business.

But progressives shouldinsteadfocus their efforts on working within the DNC right now to stop"the real opponent" currently in Washington,rather than hoping a class-action lawsuit shifts the way the institution operates in the upcoming midterm elections and general election in 2020, according to Scott Bolden, a Democratic strategist and former chair of the D.C. Democratic Party.

That opponentfor liberals, many independents and conservative Democrats alikebeing the Donald Trump administration.

Protesters gathered to rally against President Donald Trump's firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey, outside the White House in Washington, May 10, 2017. Reuters

"The DNC is not as dangerous as Donald Trump is,"Bolden tells Newsweek. "Sanders supporters are forceful, theyre vocal, but they havent learned how to win yet. The importance of the DNC fraud lawsuit is that it shows theyre trying to change the rules and regulations and the leadership of the DNC so they can win in upcoming elections."

Attorneys for the DNC and its former chairperson, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, attempted to dismiss the lawsuit on multiple occasions, originally claiming it wasnt properly served by Beck and his team, before stating there are no enforceable obligations for the organization to practice neutrality during the primaries.

That argument could be deadly to their chances of garnering support from Democrats, liberals and independents who grew inspired by Sanders'message of change in the Democratic Party last year.

"What if Apple went into a court of law and said, 'We actually dont believe we have any enforceable obligations to our shareholders,'"Beck said in an interview last week. "What do you think would happen to the Apple stock price?"

Meanwhile, strategists like Bolden say the partys best shot at winning back control of the House and Senate in 2018 would be to adapt its approach in engaging with Sanders supporters and working families who feel unrepresented by either party at the moment.

"I think the Democrats are still trying to win support from Sanderssupporters, and whether they have been successful to date is still an open question,"Bolden says. "You still have this lawsuit. You still have progressive factions who believe they and Sanders were wronged by the DNC. But at the end of the day, you cant prove he didnt get enough votes to beat Hillary because of the committees actions.... What you can do is move forward together, which is something [DNC Chair] Tom Perez and Sanders will have to continue to fight for."

Read more here:
Did the DNC Help Hillary Clinton Beat Bernie Sanders? Fraud Lawsuit Takes Aim at Leadership - Newsweek