The adviser, former Sanders campaign manager and Senate chief of staff Jeff Weaver, made the charge as VTDigger reported on the past criminal conviction of another Sanders aide, Chuck Rocha, who is Latino.
“Sadly, like too many others in our society, the Vermont Digger wants to brand people like Chuck Rocha for life — an attitude that disproportionately impacts black and brown people and poor people,” Weaver told the online news outlet in a written statement. “This is just another way systemic racism works. It’s disappointing that VTDigger is helping to uphold it.”
In an interview Friday with Seven Days, VTDigger founder and editor Anne Galloway rejected the claim and called Weaver’s words “a bullying tactic.”
“These are the kind of tactics you’d expect from the Trump administration,” she said.
The story in question, written by reporter Kit Norton, focused on Rocha’s recent work negotiating a first-of-its-kind union contract for Sanders campaign staffers. It noted that Rocha had been convicted in 2013 of embezzling funds from the United Steelworkers union, for which he had previously served as political director.
As Politico reported in February 2016, Rocha pleaded guilty to one felony count of embezzlement and accepted responsibility for 17 other counts after he was caught diverting funds and falsifying records. Rocha used the money for Stanley Cup Final tickets, golf trips to Florida and South Carolina, and travel to London. As part of his plea deal, according to Politico, he was barred from serving as an officer of a labor union until 2026.
The Sanders campaign did not make Rocha available for comment.
In an interview with Seven Days, Weaver said his statement had been “a very measured response” and not “an indictment of VTDigger as an institution.”
Asked whether he believed news outlets should never report on the criminal backgrounds of senior presidential campaign aides, Weaver said, “I didn’t say they didn’t have the right to write it. I didn’t say they shouldn’t write it. I just made the observation that when you engage in this kind of call-out reporting on a story that’s been previously reported … all it does is reinforce an unfair system.”
Weaver said that while he had not spoken to Sanders himself about the matter, he had been speaking for the campaign when he made the remarks to VTDigger. “I will tell you that [Sanders] is a big believer in people having second chances … And that’s why, on our campaign, we have given many people second chances and will continue to do so.”
According to Galloway, Rocha’s ethnicity did not factor — and should not have factored — into VTDigger’s decision to cover his past wrongdoing. She said it was newly relevant because he’d been negotiating a union contract. “We weren’t thinking about his race,” she said. “We were thinking about the conviction and what that meant in this context.”
Galloway said her organization had been called plenty of things over the years — including “the National Enquirer,” by former governor Peter Shumlin — but that this was “definitely a new line of attack.”
“It’s not like we’re a bunch of babies here,” she said. “We have pretty thick skin.” But, she said, Weaver’s allegation was the latest in a “pattern” of negative behavior from the campaign.
“Weaver has been belittling and nasty to us on the phone, so this isn’t the first time,” Galloway said.
Weaver declined to directly address Galloway’s counter-charges. He did go out of his way to note that he’s “not a regular reader of VTDigger.”
“I’m trying to remember the last time I talked to Anne Galloway,” he said. “Maybe never.”
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This isn’t surprising. Bernie hates coverage that isn’t kissing his ass and often responds to it by attacking the press. The word choice is less inflammatory than that of President Trump, but the basic concepts are the same.
Both sides are somewhat right here. Theres no reason VTDigger shouldnt cover this story, but VTDigger is still garbage journalism. Its a shame enough people donate to keep them afloat, but tabloid trash draws eyeballs everywhere, including Vermont.
An apparent example of institutional racism from Digger:
Headline re: Infinite Culcleasure, candidate in the last Burlington mayoral race: “Burlington Mayoral Candidate Culcleasure Convicted in 1990s for Cocaine Charges”
vs.
Headline re: incumbent Weinberger: “Bond ratings and water pipes: Into the weeds with Miro Weinberger”
A headline about a black man campaigning for mayor…about a cocaine charge. A headline about a white politician…and his pet concerns about the city. Both reports by the same reporter (Cory Dawson) and — I assume? — given the green light by Galloway. My basic point is — there is at least some evidence to the effect that Digger has shown a racial bias, so the current accusation is not completely without precedent.
What? Good Lord, those two comparative headlines are not anything like evidence of *institutional racism* by Digger. Was Digger not supposed to report that one of the candidates for Mayor had a past criminal record? I*m sure if that candidate had been white and Digger had NOT reported the criminal record, the same people would be shouting *unfair* and *coverup.* And was Digger supposed to fabricate a criminal record for Mayor Weinberger so they could write about it? And by the way, you picked one bland Digger headline about Weinberger. There have been plenty of critical ones. So the comparison isn*t even fair. Facts: one candidate had a criminal record and the other did not, regardless of color. Reporting on that is factual, NOT racist. It is *reporting.* Period.
The Far Left hates factual reporting just as much as the the Far Right does.
Vt Chigger gets its marching orders from their sponsor. Gassaway just had ti make a jab at President Trump. There really is TDS in VT. Can barely wait for the indictments to be unsealed. Think that the majority of Democrats in Congress will get arrested, some GOP too. The swamp is huge.
VTDigger often fails to balance its stories with opposing views, but one thing Digger isn’t is racist.
Sanders’ Achilles heel is black people, whom he has failed to win over so far.
If Bernie fails to get the nomination, it’ll be blacks that will have supported someone else. He had the same problem in 2016.
So Weaver, whose job is to get Bernie into the White House, has to try to win over the minority vote.
Weaver, in attacking VTDigger for being racist, is trying to build up the way Bernie is perceived by blacks.
It won’t work.
If minorities see any racism, it’s on Bernie – not VTDigger.
Here’s my “measured response”.
Because of this story, I no longer support Bernie’s Presidential bid.
As he employs people like Weaver, he’s clearly not up to running the administration for the entire country.
Also; Mr Warren; it’s V.T. Digger. Not The Vermont Digger. It’s a major serious media outlet in the Senator’s home state. Your incompetence is showing.
Jeff Weaver: hey everyone, look over there! Our campaign doesnt have a race problem…. its… um, its …. its VT Digger that has a race problem!
Also Jeff: Game set match
Weaver, nothing upholds systemic racism like that parade mural in Burlington that Bernie refuses to withdraw from. By his inclusion he sends a white supremacist message.
Weaver, Bernie, and Senate staff in Burlington Office see no racism in the parade mural of exclusively white notables that Bernie is part of. The lack of recognition of notable non-white people is not the worst part — the portrayal of a generic Native Ametican as small and subservient to the larger than life white colonizer is despicably racist as well as inaccurate Vermont history.
Weaver, nothing upholds systemic racism like that parade mural in Burlington that Bernie refuses to withdraw from. By his inclusion he sends a white supremacist message.
Weaver, Bernie, and Senate staff in Burlington Office see no racism in the parade mural of exclusively white notables that Bernie is part of. The lack of recognition of notable non-white people is not the worst part — the portrayal of a generic Native Ametican as small and subservient to the larger than life white colonizer is despicably racist as well as inaccurate Vermont history.
Weaver, nothing upholds systemic racism like that parade mural in Burlington that Bernie refuses to withdraw from. By his inclusion he sends a white supremacist message.
Weaver, Bernie, and Senate staff in Burlington Office see no racism in the parade mural of exclusively white notables that Bernie is part of. The lack of recognition of notable non-white people is not the worst part — the portrayal of a generic Native Ametican as small and subservient to the larger than life white colonizer is despicably racist as well as inaccurate Vermont history.
Weaver, nothing upholds systemic racism like that parade mural in Burlington that Bernie refuses to withdraw from. By his inclusion he sends a white supremacist message.
Weaver, Bernie, and Senate staff in Burlington Office see no racism in the parade mural of exclusively white notables that Bernie is part of. The lack of recognition of notable non-white people is not the worst part — the portrayal of a generic Native Ametican as small and subservient to the larger than life white colonizer is despicably racist as well as inaccurate Vermont history.
Whoa there Sara Vaclavik,
That is an attempt at historical revision worthy of Stalin. Culcleasure is a two time convict with multiple narcotics felonies, a violent assault on a witness by Mr. Culcleasure, his admission in court that before coming to Vermont he sold crack for Mr. “Boo” Hickman in New York, then moved to Vermont to again sell crack for “Boo”, the gun found in his apartment during his second narcotics arrest in 1998, and god only knows what else. He ruined uncounted lives by getting people addicted to his garbage, and has never once taken responsibility for it. Years later, after he should have matured, he blames his behavior on all those white kids who kept asking him for drugs.
He absolutely should be publicly held accountable, not just in an election but in every single one of his remaining days.
Well now, since SEVEN DAYS is a paper for & about the Liberal sissies in Chittenden County in either case I will add my Conservative Non-Chittenden County 2 cent opinion here… Bernie Sanders is as real as a $3 dollar bill.
That he would even remotely associate himself or his make believe presidential campaign with the likes of a convicted felon speaks volumes. Mr Weaver is simply playing the racist card against VTDigger & has absolutely ZERO merit. No story here… Rocha is/was a convicted Steelworkers Union Embeziller hired by the Bernie Sanders campaign, end of story & kudos to VTDigger for reporting on it…
I must be ignorant. I didnt know he was a minority until Weaver made it an issue. I just thought he was a thief. Latino, by definition and common usage is not a racial term. It refers to ethnicity and culture and includes all races and combinations thereof.
Well now, I guess we can all agree that a frivolous, barely-noticed wall painting in an alley in Burlington is the single most important problem facing Vermonters of color today. It’s the terrible, evil, magical force that is behind all racism in Vermont, even if, like 99% of Vermonters, you’ve never seen it and never will.
There is a huge chasm of difference between this suggestion from Mr. In-over-his-head Weaver and the huge service Trump has provided to the American people by exposing the blatantly biased misinformation campaign we see from the likes of CNN, MSNBC and their liberal ‘journalists’.
We owe President Trump a huge thank you for exposing the lies Jim Acosta, Brian Williams and their ilk like to feed us on behalf of their democrat puppet masters.
Anne Galloway should know this, yet fails to recognize the obvious truth.
If Anne Galloway had curbed her instincts and left Trump out of this, she would have done herself a lot of good.
Galloway, VTDigger editor, resorted to her weakest side by invoking Trump to try to defend her publication against charges of racism.
“These are the kind of tactics you’d expect from the Trump administration,” she was quoted as saying.
Bernie’s campaign is doing a fine job self-immolating without giving Donald Trump credit.
Sanders lost the black vote in 2016 and he’s about to do so again – if he gets that far.
He does a fine job alienating blacks – with no help from Trump, thank you very much.
For a Sanders aide to accuse VTDigger of racism shows how desperate the campaign is.
VTDigger may be a lot of things, but racist isn’t one of them.
Also, if someone ever gets the chance to ask Weaver “Were you a Marine?” please do. He has been encouraging that myth for a long time. The truthful answer would be “No, never”.
VTDigger does pretty good work, they are way way better than the local print and broadcast sycophants and corporate stenographers that pose as journalists.
I do wish Bernie would dump Jeff Weaver . . he is a creepy guy, as in Mike Pence, Steve Mnuchin, Stephen Miller loitering in the airport Men’s Room level of creepy. Rocha needs to be made available to answer any questions so this can get cleared up.
But, rejoice all you Wall Street worshiping Democrats . . “Status Quo” Joe Biden is here to save you from all of this rampaging “socialism” that is cropping up all over the place. Bernie will get kneecapped again by the DNC. MSNBC is all in on Joe, all you have to do is watch.
Doesn’t Bernie know VT Digger can’t be racist. It’s hard left leaning and Leftists can’t be racist. I thought he knew Republicans are the racists that’s why the paper leaves out conservative voices. *eye roll* In case it’s not obvious this is dripping with sarcasm. Everyone is looking to blame the boogie man rather than take personal responsibility. If everyone is a racist, then no one is a racist.
Parroting and repeating something really dumb, or a lie, doesn’t make it true.
Digger is anti-Bernie just as Seven Days is. It’s all clickbait, just like Paul Heintz’s articles. They’re dying to get picked up by Politico or some other outlet (and apparently the editors don’t care that Heintz’s writing is always words rearranged from other people’s articles.)
I don’t believe this accusation of racism is particularly credible within the present context, but I have found the politically motivated censorship of reader comments on VTDigger’s web site to be quite severe and unjust on many past occasions — yet the casual observer will never notice this censorship because they do let some of the less important and relevant comments go through. Their pet peeve seems to be anonymous comments: they are fully cognizant of the fact that whistleblowers and other critics of public officials are frequently subjected to many forms of harassment, yet they still insisted that legal names be used (which often makes candid, free speech impossible.) I don’t know if this policy has continued because I got so turned off by the ham-handed censorship and excessive editorial pandering to corporate sponsors that I just quit reading the rag altogether, and stopped forwarding articles to my associates. So I had to laugh when I heard they were asking for people to donate $156,000 in the next two weeks. They will get nothing from me, ha ha!
“Digger is anti-Bernie just as Seven Days is.”
I call major BS. Neither of them is “anti-Bernie.” If anything, 7D has for years given Bernie way more press — mostly flattering press — than he deserves. Year after year, look at the weekly columns going all the way back from Freyne up to the present with Walters, and you see week after week, year after year, of Bernie glorification when he’s accomplished virtually nothing after almost 30 years in Congress. All of a sudden 7D publishes a few articles about Jane Sanders and Burlington College and Bernie gets all temper-tantrumy and won’t talk. What is NOT “anti-Bernie”? News stories that only flatter him? That never question him? That never say anything critical? Gimme a break. Bernie and Trump and their sycophantic followers both want a completely uncritical, flattering press.
Jeff Weavers sophomoric “systemic racism” rant to Vermont Digger strays so far from the universally accepted definition of the term that it is an embarrassment to “systemicists” and “racists” alike. Can anyone envision a starker example of the political risks involved with public pontification and schooling the press on issues so far removed from ones wheelhouse as a political handler, dark money bagman, and comic book purveyor?
Recall that Mr. Weaver was never an Oscar nominee for his masterful exposition of nuanced race relations in Driving Mr. Sanders. Nor would familiarity and heart-felt personal identification with the likes of or Jug-Head, Reggie, Betty, or Veronica in Archie Comix’ racially-segregated Riverdale provide meaningful insight into anything remotely resembling systemic racism.
If anything, Hispanic embezzlers are most likely significantly under-represented within Vermonts lily-white embezzlement community, and, truth be told, I cannot recall a single cautionary media tale about sensationalized and excessive, negative coverage of Hispanic embezzlement in the Green Mountain State. “Wheres the Systemic Racism?”, the feisty, elderly woman at the Wendys drive-up window might have barked, had she lived another 35 years following the TV commercial battle for the 1984 Democrat Presidential nomination between Walter Mondale and Gary Hart.
Ultimately Weavers “systemic racism” admonition comes across as that of a self-absorbed, egotistical bully to whom racism is defined by and measured in favorable or unfavorable polling numbers, a dark, liberal version of infamous Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who squandered his 15 minutes of Wharholian fame when he strayed from his anti-government folk-hero path to expound on race-related issues:
“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro.” proffered Bundy.
Et tu Weaver?
“7DVT” is absolutely correct: VTDigger blocks reader comments it finds too hot to handle.
Especially comments critical of VTDigger’s work.
Racist? No, Digger isn’t, despite Bernie’s claim.
Sensitive to criticism? Absolutely.
Critical comments submitted to Digger’s “footnotes” section never see the light of day.
Digger’s editor, Anne Galloway, continues to refuse requests to review her antiquated “moderator” policy.
so you can’t report on facts about black and latino people if the facts are negative? if the shoe fits…