Bernie Sanders’ allies add pressure on Democratic rules committee co-chair

A liberal activist group allied with Sen. Bernard Sanders questioned Friday the ethics of Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the “appropriateness” of him leading the rules committee at the Democratic National Convention this summer.

Democracy for America joined other liberal groups in calling for Mr. Malloy to replace Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Wade over conflict-of-interest concerns in the proposed merger of health insurers Anthem and Cigna, which formerly employed Ms. Wade.

The group said Mr. Malloy’s inaction “would legitimately call into question the ethics of our state government and, by extension, question the appropriateness of the Governor’s leadership position in the national Democratic Party and its upcoming convention.”

The rules committee will be a key player when Mr. Sanders takes his insurgent presidential run to the July convention in Philadelphia and attempts to wrest the nomination away from front-runner Hillary Clinton.

The Sanders campaign last week called for the DNC to remove Mr. Malloy and former Rep. Barney Frank as co-chairs of the rules committee, citing their role as “aggressive attack surrogates” for Mrs. Clinton.

The DNC rejected the request.

Democracy for America has now added allegations of corruption to the case against Mr. Malloy.

“Voters in both parties are fed up with backroom deals and conflicts of interest that allow those in government and their friends and family to profit at the expense of working families,” said Jim Dean, chairman of Democracy for America. “After the Rowland administration’s legacy of graft and the damage it caused our state, it is vital that the Malloy administration and all Democratic leaders in Connecticut walk the walk in the fight against corruption or get out of the way.”