Controversy has erupted days before votes are cast in Iowa after a bizarre decision by the state's top newspaper and partner CNN to withhold the results of a major poll. 

The vaunted Des Moines Register stunned the nation when the poll that his renowned for its accuracy was yanked prior to its scheduled release on Saturday, reportedly after complaints from Pete Buttigieg's campaign. 

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That Mayor Pete had less than a snowball's chance in Hell of winning in Iowa contributes to the mystery and speculation is already swirling that the real reason why the poll was pulled is that it showed Bernie Sanders crushing the establishment's preferred candidate Joe Biden. 

Via Politico,"Des Moines Register poll scrapped after apparent mishap":

The widely anticipated Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers was scrapped shortly before it was set to be released Saturday night after complaints from Pete Buttigieg's campaign about how it was conducted.

The stunning announcement by the media sponsors and West Des Moines-based pollster Selzer & Co. means the results of the historically accurate survey won't be released before Monday caucuses. The decision left the campaign and political media universe, which has descended on Des Moines, dumbfounded.

Buttigieg's campaign raised serious concerns about the poll with CNN and the Register, a source familiar with the situation said.

Lis Smith, a senior adviser to Buttigieg's campaign, confirmed on Twitter that the former South Bend (Ind.) mayor's campaign had been in touch with the media outlets about the issues and hailed their decision to withhold the results.

"Our campaign received a report from a recipient of the Iowa Poll call, raising concerns that not every candidate was named by the interviewer when asked who they support," Smith tweeted. "We shared this with the organizations behind the poll, who conducted an internal investigation and determined not to release it. We applaud CNN and the Des Moines Register for their integrity."

The paper had previously endorsed Elizabeth Warren.

Despite the official explanation, political insiders were left dumbfounded and for those who support Bernie, there is already rampant suspicion that CNN and the paper are working together to undermine the Vermont socialist. 

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President Trump was quick to stir the pot with a tweet accusing the corrupt Dems and CNN are withholding the poll because it confirms that Bernie is pasting lunchbucket Joe even after being trapped in D.C. for the impeachment farce. 

According to the POTUS:

Corrupt Dems must #ReleaseThePoll! #QAnon reports the biggest conspiracy in the history of conspiracies. The Des Moines Register in cahoots with #FakeNews CNN will NOT release the final #IowaPoll. Why? Because they know #BernieSanders won instead of Biden.

A spate of recent polls have shown Sanders pulling into a commanding lead while the former vice president continues to insult voters and bury himself under a mountain of gaffes. 

Coming in the immediate aftermath of reports that the DNC was scheming to change the rules on superdelegates so as to deny Sanders the nomination at the convention, media smears, condemnation from Hillary Clinton and a report that Barack Obama is mulling publicly denouncing Bernie, his supporters can be forgiven for smelling a rat. 

And just like that, the civil war that will soon consume the Democratic party got just a little bit closer.