In the wake of the release of some 27,000 emails by the website Wikileaks, some changes have been made for the upcoming Democratic National Convention. “She should examine her actions and ask whether she’s been fair and if she hasn’t been, or if she becomes an issue, she should get out of the way so that we’re talking about Hillary Clinton and not Debbie Wasserman Schultz”.
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Throughout the primaries, Wasserman Schultz struggled to defend allegations that the party actively favored Clinton over Sanders and that her ties to Clinton prevented her from being impartial in the race.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, indicated that he believes “Russian state actors” had some involvement in the leaked Democratic National Committee emails that show top Democrats writing off Sen. Rep. Marcia Fudge was named the new convention chair.
Democratic leaders are scrambling to keep the party united, but two officials familiar with the discussions said Wasserman Schultz had been digging in and not eager to vacate her post until after the November elections.
A Democratic delegate from California says there are serious discussions underway to challenge Hillary Clinton’s pick of Tim Kaine as her running mate.
Clinton’s campaign released a statement thanking the candidate’s “longtime friend” for taking the fight to Republicans.
But Sanders repeatedly voiced frustration with a DNC and party establishment he felt was stacked against him, and the resentment from Sanders and his supporters threatened to disrupt the convention.
“I think she should resign, period”, Sanders said on ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on “This Week”.
“Her fund-raising and organizing skills were matched only by her passion, her commitment and her warmth”, Obama said. Pressure on Schultz increased further after Sanders called for her resignation.
It also overshadowed preparations in Philadelphia for Clinton’s coronation as the nominee to face Trump in the November 8 presidential election.
Republican nominee Donald Trump, meanwhile, blasted Wasserman Schultz as “overrated” and contrasted her with his party’s chairman, Reince Priebus, calling the Wisconsin Republican “the tough one and the smart one”.
Wasserman Schultz’s role at the convention had already been reduced, with a speaking role and later even the simple task of gaveling the convention in and out of session stripped from her.
Earlier Sunday, thousands of clean energy activists jammed a downtown street in their mile-long march from City Hall to Independence Mall, near the Liberty Bell. I look forward to serving as a surrogate for her campaign in Florida and across the country to ensure her victory.
The leaked emails prompted primary runner-up Sanders to call for Wasserman Schultz’s immediate resignation.
In one leaked email, a DNC official wondered whether Sanders’ religious beliefs could be used against him, questioning whether the candidate may be an atheist.
The publication of the emails comes just a weekend before the start of the Democratic convention, where a major objective will be to unify the Democratic Party by winning over Sanders’ voters.
“It definitely helps, but she needs to resign completely, give up her seat”, said Daniel Clark, 25, a Sanders delegate from Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
Both Clinton and Sanders applauded the decisions.
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“She’s been quarantined”, a party official told CNN.
