Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) apologized to Joe Biden after one of Sanders’ surrogates accused the former vice president of having a “big corruption problem.”

An op-ed in The Guardian by Sanders’ surrogate Zephyr Teachout presented detailed claims against Biden for allegedly taking billionaire donor money with promises to protect their interests at the expense of working- and middle-class Americans:

But Biden has a big corruption problem and it makes him a weak candidate. I know it seems crazy, but a lot of the voters we need – independents and people who might stay home – will look at Biden and Trump and say: “They’re all dirty.” [Emphasis added]

It looks like “Middle Class” Joe has perfected the art of taking big contributions, then representing his corporate donors at the cost of middle- and working-class Americans. Converting campaign contributions into legislative favors and policy positions isn’t being “moderate”. It is the kind of transactional politics Americans have come to loathe. [Emphasis added]

In response, Sanders took Biden’s side over the op-ed rather than his own surrogate, issuing an apology through CBS News.

“It is absolutely not my view that Joe is corrupt in any way,” Sanders said. “And I’m sorry that that op-ed appeared.”

Sanders has a history of attacking his Democrat opponents with caution. In 2016, after refusing to attack failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her alleged corruption with the Clinton Foundation, Sanders endorsed Clinton for president.

A month before the endorsement, Sanders supporters called Clinton “the most corrupt person to run for President” and trashed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for her endorsement of Clinton.

During the current 2020 Democrat presidential primary, Sanders has refused, again, to accept the claims of many of his supporters that the Democrat National Committee (DNC) is “rigging” the primary against the self-described Democratic socialist.

“Let’s be clear about who is rigging what: It is Donald Trump’s action to use the power of the federal government for his own political benefit that is the cause of the impeachment trial,” Sanders said in a statement after President Trump suggested the DNC was rigging the primary against Sanders.

“[Trump’s] transparent attempts to divide Democrats will not work, and we are going to unite to sweep him out of the White House in November,” Sanders said.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.