Media bias in favor of one candidate over another is nothing new. But biased editorializing and reporting with questionable accuracy on significant charges filed in court have been washed over, which may impact voters in one of the nations most contentious congressional races.
A MoveOn petition calling on the San Jose Mercury News to withdraw their endorsement of Ro Khanna was started on September 25th by my husband and me. The Mercury News has consistently disparaged Congressman Mike Honda’s reputation in favor of a candidate whose momentum in this race is built on the 'alleged' stolen data and donor lists belonging to Mike Honda for Congress, and the local media’s consistent barrage to dismantle the Congressman’s reputation.
Honda sues Khanna in Federal Court on charges of Cyber Theft
On September 22, Mike Honda for Congress filed a civil suit against Ro Khanna for Congress, Inc. and Ro Khanna’s campaign manager Brian Parvizshahi for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Economic Espionage Act. These alleged cyber thefts included confidential, proprietary data that according to Gautum Dutta, attorney for Honda’s campaign, “is used against the supporters of a rival campaign.” The data included donor information of over 10,000 contacts, campaign notes, and donors’ personal information representing years of campaign research and strategy the Honda campaign called “invaluable.”
It is alleged that Parviszshahi accessed the donor data files since February 2013. However, his access to them began a year prior when he served one month as an intern for The Arum Group. When Paraviszshahi left the consulting firm, his access had not been revoked.
“Brian Parvizshahi, Mr. Khanna’s former Campaign Manager, accessed the Honda Campaign’s Dropbox files at least 44 times dating back to January 2014 when he began his employment with the Khanna Campaign,” said Mr. Dutta. “Contrary to what Ro Khanna has been saying, the overlap in data is significant. Documents that Mr. Khanna was forced to turn over to our firm due to a Federal Court Order show that there were a total of 1,022 overlapping names or email addresses on his master list.”
Currently a case management conference is set for November 17. A case management conference is when both sides, the lawyers and the judge, meet to discuss issues such as discovery and scheduling.
On October 31 the Khanna campaign filed a motion to dismiss Honda’s complaint. Khanna’s motion to dismiss the preliminary injunction was previously denied by the judge. Preliminary injunctions are typically hard to attain because the judge is asked to punish the defendant without the benefit of the full evidence and testimony of a trial. If the judge was willing to consider the preliminary injunction, it seems likely Khanna’s motion to dismiss Honda’s complaint would also be denied.
Local media may have inadvertently used stolen information from the data to disparage Honda’s reputation.
Another local paper, alt-weekly Silicon Valley Metro published an article suggesting that Honda engaged in pay-to-play activities based on a “1000 Cranes” list of donors. According to Honda’s campaign manager Michael Beckendorf, the digital fingerprints show the data Parvizshahi accessed matches the story published in the article.
Petitioners call on the San Jose Mercury News to withdraw their endorsement
The petition calls on the San Jose Mercury News to withdraw their endorsement of Ro Khanna based on the lawsuit and alleged illegal activities. If Silicon Valley deserves representation by a congressperson not embroiled in ethics controversy as the SJ Mercury suggests in numerous articles, they should withdraw their endorsement of Ro Khanna.
The petition states that residents of Silicon Valley have had their privacy invaded and been harassed by the Ro Khanna campaign. As the paper of record for Silicon Valley, their endorsement betrays the community’s trust. Two hundred and four mostly local residents have signed the petition. Many shared their story of being harassed or intimidated by the Khanna campaign. A former journalist spoke to unfair practices of her counterparts citing ‘a clear violation of journalism practices.’
The petition was submitted to the San Jose Mercury News Editorial Board on November 4, 2016. It can be viewed here.
Sources for this article include:
Honda ties lawsuit against Khanna, his campaign manager for cyber crime, by Steven Tavares, East Bay Citizen
Exposing Ro Khanna’s creepy and invasive campaign, by Glen The Plumber
As KhannGate unfolds, Honda supporters want San Jose Mercury News to withdraw endorsement, by remembrance