Sanders' campaign - THE RIDGEWOOD BLOG.

‘They are not going to sabotage our campaign,’ Sanders’ top aide Jeff Weaver said.

By GABRIEL DEBENEDETTI

12/18/15 01:23 PM EST

Bernie Sanders’ campaign on Friday threatened to sue the Democratic Party for suspending its access to the national voter database, saying the move threatens to undermine the Vermont senator’s presidential run.

Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ campaign manager, held a press conference on Friday in which he described how the Democratic National Committee was unfairly choking off the “lifeblood” of the campaign.

The DNC suspended Sanders’ access following the revelation that Sanders staffers improperly reviewed Hillary Clinton campaign data made available as a result of a software error this week by political data technology company NGP VAN.

“Individual leaders of the DNC can support Hillary Clinton in any way they want, but they are not going to sabotage our campaign, one of the strongest grassroots campaigns in modern history,” Weaver said.

“By their action, the leadership of the Democratic National Committee is now actively attempting to undermine our campaign,” he said, calling on the DNC to release its freeze on the campaign’s data, a move that has effectively crippled Sanders’ field operation. “This is taking our campaign hostage.”

Weaver described campaign’s data as “stolen by the DNC” and said he saw a “pattern” of actions suggesting the committee has been helping Clinton. He said he planned to bring the issue to federal court this afternoon if the DNC continues to “hold our data hostage.”