Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Bloomberg Fires Company Using Prisoners for His Campaign

Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg cut ties with a contractor that used prisoners to make calls for his presidential campaign, he said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg cut ties with a contractor that used prisoners to make calls for his presidential campaign, he said Tuesday.

The former New York mayor said that his campaign was unaware of the arrangement until a reporter sought comment. Online news site The Intercept reported on Tuesday that Bloomberg's campaign contracted a New Jersey-based call center company that in at least one instance used Oklahoma inmates to make calls on behalf of the billionaire's campaign.

"We only learned about this when the reporter called us, but as soon as we discovered which vendor’s subcontractor had done this, we immediately ended our relationship with the company and the people who hired them," Bloomberg said in the statement.

"We do not support this practice and we are making sure our vendors more properly vet their subcontractors moving forward," he said.

Bloomberg has come under fire from criminal justice reform advocates for his support for controversial tough-on-crime policies while mayor of New York. He launched his presidential campaign with an apology for his embrace of stop-and-frisk policing tactics, which give police wide latitude to detain people suspected of committing a crime, and which have been found to be used disproportionately against minorities.

Categories / Employment, Politics

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...