Republican National Committee
November 2, 2016

How Hillary Plotted To Rig The DNC

John Podesta's Emails Expose An Elaborate Plot In The Works Before A Single Vote Was Cast To Control The DNC, Depose Its Head, And Replace Her With An Ally… All Of Which Eventually Happened


TOP TAKEAWAYS

  • Newly leaked emails from John Podesta reveal that the Clinton campaign was establishing itself as a decision maker within the Democrat National Committee well before the primaries even began.
  • A Clinton campaign memo shows that in order to establish the firmest grip over the DNC, the strategy early on was to take power away from then-DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and transfer it to an ally Team Clinton would choose.
  • The emails also prove allegations that the Clinton campaign and the DNC worked to limit the debate schedule to Clinton's preference, despite assertions made by Clinton and Wasserman Schultz at the time that no such coordination occurred.
  • Months later, the fallout from leaked DNC emails that showed that the party had stacked the deck in favor of Clinton, which forced Wasserman Schultz to resign before the Clinton campaign had to take action.
  • Wasserman Schultz's replacement, interim chair Donna Brazile, has shown even greater bias - with Podesta emails showing she leaked Democrat primary debate and forum questions in advance to the Clinton campaign, resulting in her ousting as a contributor to CNN.

BEFORE THE PRIMARY SEASON HAD EVEN STARTED, THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN WAS ESTABLISHING ITSELF IN THE DNC FRAMEWORK AND DISCUSSING METHODS TO TIGHTEN ITS GRIP ON THE PARTY

On December 17th 2015 Heather Stone Sent A Memo Titled "DNC Leadership" Which Said The Clinton Campaign "Reached An Understanding With The DNC That Allows Us To Conduct A Series Of Special Projects, Including GOP Opposition Research, Communications, And Discrete Date And Analytics Projects." "DNC Leadership Through a series of conversations and negotiations, we have reached an understanding with the DNC that allows us to conduct a series of special projects, including GOP opposition research, communications, and discrete data and analytics projects." (Attachment: "DNCLeadership," Heather Stone, Email To Robby Mook, Sara Latham, And John Podesta, "Documents For Discussion," John Podesta Wikileaks, 12/17/15)

The Memo Recommended "Installing Someone As Chief Of Staff" At The DNC So That "As Soon As We Become The Presumptive Nominee" There Was "Someone Senior At The DNC To Manage Operations On A Daily Basis." "As soon as we become the presumptive nominee, we will need someone senior at the DNC to manage operations on a daily basis. We recommend installing someone as Chief of Staff, who will oversee the budget, fundraising, staffing and general election operations. Amy Dacey should continue to manage party affairs." (Attachment: "DNCLeadership," Heather Stone, Email To Robby Mook, Sara Latham, And John Podesta, "Documents For Discussion," John Podesta Wikileaks, 12/17/15)

TO ACCOMPLISH ITS GOALS, THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN DISCUSSED HOW IT WOULD ENABLE "SYSTEMATIC SHIFTS" IN DNC LEADERSHIP AND BRING ABOUT THE DOWNFALL OF DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Due To Challenges In Engaging With DNC Leadership, A Clinton Campaign Memo Established That It Was In Their Best Interest To Keep Wasserman Schultz As Chair Through The Convention But After That It Was "Question For Discussion"

The Memo Explained That The Clinton Campaign Had Encountered Challenges In Dealing With Then-DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, And Called For "Systemic Shifts At The DNC Leadership Level" To Facilitate A Better Working Relationship. "Though we have reached a working arrangement with them, our dealings with Party leadership have been marked by challenges, often requiring multiple meetings and phone calls to resolve relatively simple matters. We are frequently caught in the middle of poor communication and a difficult relationship between the Chairwoman and the Executive Director. Moreover, leadership at the Committee has been slow to respond to structural challenges within their own operation that could have real impact on our campaign, such as research. Jen O'Malley Dillon has entered into a contract with the DNC as a consultant for the General Election, which addresses some of these challenges and provides a connection for us within the Party. However, this arrangement does not change the need for systemic shifts at the DNC leadership level - to ensure that we have strategic and operational partners within the Committee that can help drive a program and deliver on our General Election imperatives." (Attachment: "DNCLeadership," Heather Stone, Email To Robby Mook, Sara Latham, And John Podesta, "Documents For Discussion," John Podesta Wikileaks, 12/17/15)

The Memo Recommended Keeping Wasserman Schultz As DNC Chair Until The Democrat Convention, After Which "Whether Debbie Wasserman Schultz Should Remain As The Chair Of The DNC Is An Open Question For Discussion." "March Through July Until the convention, we recommend that we keep Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the Chair of the party, but bring on a Chief of Staff to drive the day-to-day work. Whether Debbie Wasserman Schultz should remain as the Chair of the DNC is an open question for discussion. However, we do not recommend any change in the Chair before the convention." (Attachment: "DNCLeadership," Heather Stone, Email To Robby Mook, Sara Latham, And John Podesta, "Documents For Discussion," John Podesta Wikileaks, 12/17/15)

All Of The Options Established By The Clinton Campaign Memo Involved Making Wasserman Schultz At Best A Figurehead, And Showed A Clear Preference For Anointing Clinton Surrogate Jennifer Granholm As DNC Chair

The Memo Laid Out Three Options For Dealing With Wasserman Schultz, The First Of Which Was Keeping Her On As A "Largely Ceremonial" DNC Chair And Working Through The Chief Of Staff. "1. Keep Debbie Wasserman Schultz as Chair, and work through the Chief of Staff: Under this option, we would keep Congresswoman Wasserman-Schultz as the Chairwoman. Her role would be largely ceremonial, helping with fundraising and serving as a surrogate. For this model to be successful, we would need to clarify to the Chairwoman that we will rely on the Chief of Staff to run the Committee, and would not expect her to be involved in the day-to-day operations or programmatic decisions." (Attachment: "DNCLeadership," Heather Stone, Email To Robby Mook, Sara Latham, And John Podesta, "Documents For Discussion," John Podesta Wikileaks, 12/17/15)

The Second Option Was To Keep Wasserman Schultz As DNC Chair And Bringing On A General Election Chair, And Suggested Clinton Surrogate Jennifer Granholm For The Position. "2. Keep Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the Chair of the DNC, but bring on a General Election Chair, e.g. Governor Jennifer Granholm: Under this scenario, Congresswoman Wasserman-Schultz would retain her title and would continue to serve in a fundraising and surrogate capacity. However, we would bring on a General Election Chair who would work with the Chief of Staff as our primary programmatic connection to the committee. This model has the considerable drawback of creating a two-headed monster with little clarity of who is responsible for different areas of work within the Committee." (Attachment: "DNCLeadership," Heather Stone, Email To Robby Mook, Sara Latham, And John Podesta, "Documents For Discussion," John Podesta Wikileaks, 12/17/15)

The Third Option Was To "Replace Debbie Wasserman Schultz As The Chair With A New Chair, Likely Governor Jennifer Granholm, Post-Convention." "3. Replace Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the Chair with a new Chair, likely Governor Jennifer Granholm, post convention: Under this scenario, the convention would represent Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz's final responsibility to the DNC, and we would use the convention as a clean break between chairs. At the convention we would honor the Chairwoman's leadership and service to the Party and introduce the new Chair for the final phase of the campaign." (Attachment: "DNCLeadership," Heather Stone, Email To Robby Mook, Sara Latham, And John Podesta, "Documents For Discussion," John Podesta Wikileaks, 12/17/15)

THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN'S PLAN NEVER CAME TO FRUITION AS WASSERMAN SCHULTZ WAS FORCED TO STEP DOWN WHEN DNC EMAILS REVEALED THAT UNDER HER DIRECTION, THE DNC STACKED THE DECK AGAINST BERNIE SANDERS

Wasserman Schultz Stepped Down As DNC Chair In July Before The Democrat National Convention, "A Victim Of Her Toxic Relationship With Peers And A Trove Of Embarrassing Internal Emails." "The embattled chair of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, announced she would resign at the end of her party's convention this week, a victim of her toxic relationship with peers and a trove of embarrassing internal emails. 'Going forward, the best way for me to accomplish those goals [of winning the presidency for Hillary Clinton] is to step down as Party Chair at the end of this convention,' the Florida congresswoman said Sunday in a written statement. 'As Party Chair, this week I will open and close the Convention and I will address our delegates about the stakes involved in this election not only for Democrats, but for all Americans.'" (Marc Caputo And Daniel Strauss, "Wasserman Schultz Steps Down As DNC Chair," Politico, 7/24/16)

In July, WikiLeaks Released Nearly 20,000 Emails From Top DNC Employees, Several Of Which Show That The DNC Was Working Against Sanders In The Primary. "A new leak of internal emails from the Democratic National Committee appears to support the long-held suspicions of some Bernie Sanders supporters that the DNC was working against him. WikiLeaks released the 19,252 emails Friday, which came from 'seven key figures' in the DNC, including communications director Luis Miranda and national finance director Jordon Kaplan." (Hilary Hanson, "Leaked Emails Suggest DNC Was Conspiring Against Bernie Sanders," The Huffington Post, 7/23/16)

  • "Several Emails Posted By Wikileaks On Its Document Disclosure Website Show DNC Officials Scoffing At Sanders And His Supporters…" "Several emails posted by Wikileaks on its document disclosure website show DNC officials scoffing at Sanders and his supporters and in one instance, questioning his commitment to his Jewish religion." (Stephen Braun, "Hacked Emails Show Democratic Party Hostility To Sanders," The Associated Press , 7/23/16)

On Email Had Wasserman Schultz Stating It Was "Silly" To Consider Sanders As President While Another Had The DNC's National Finance Director Calling Sanders Obnoxious. "WikiLeaks released the 19,252 emails Friday, which came from 'seven key figures' in the DNC, including communications director Luis Miranda and national finance director Jordon Kaplan. … While the WikiLeaks database is searchable, Heavy.com has compiled a comprehensive list of some other intriguing emails about the DNC's treatment of Sanders, including committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz writing that it's 'silly' to speculate about Sanders ever being president and Kaplan referring to him as obnoxious." (Hilary Hanson, "Leaked Emails Suggest DNC Was Conspiring Against Bernie Sanders," The Huffington Post, 7/23/16)

  • The Emails Noted That "Clinton Has Had A Long-Standing Relationship With The DNC And Debbie Wasserman Schultz." "Clinton has had a long-standing relationship with the DNC and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Schultz was the co-chair of her 2008 bid for president. Sanders is a relative newcomer to the Democratic party and the DNC, having long served as an independent in the Senate. " (Eyder Peralta and Amita Kelly, "Debbie Wasserman Schultz Out As Democratic Convention Chair After Email Leak," NPR, 7/24/16)

Wasserman Schultz In An Email Called Bernie Sanders' Campaign Manager Jeff Weaver A "Damn Liar." "'FYI, this morning on CNN Jeff Weaver was asked about the protests and threats of violence in Nevada,' wrote DNC deputy communications director Mark Paustenbach on May 17. 'He begins by saying Sanders supporters should 'act in a civil way' but then goes on to hit the state party.' 'Damn liar,' Wasserman Schultz wrote in response. 'Particularly scummy that he barely acknowledges the violent and threatening behavior that occurred.'" (Daniel Strauss And Bianca Padro Ocasio, "Debbie Wasserman Schultz Once Called Sanders' Campaign Manager A 'Damn Liar,'" Politico, 7/22/16)

  • Wasserman Schultz Also Called Weaver An "Ass" While Discussing Whether The Sanders Campaign Should Continue Through The Democrat Convention. "In another email, when informed by Paustenbach that Weaver had said the Sanders campaign should continue 'to the convention,' Wasserman Schultz responded: 'He is an ASS.' (Weaver, in response, wrote to POLITICO: 'Isn't the ass the mascot of the dem party?') The emails come from a batch of internal DNC correspondence that was obtained by WikiLeaks and leaked Friday." (Daniel Strauss And Bianca Padro Ocasio, "Debbie Wasserman Schultz Once Called Sanders' Campaign Manager A 'Damn Liar,'" Politico, 7/22/16)

NEW EMAILS PROVE ALLEGATIONS That THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN AND THE DNC LIMITED DEBATES TO FAVOR CLINTON'S PREFERENCES

When Asked If Her Campaign Advocated For A Light Debate Schedule, "Clinton Neither Confirmed Nor Denied The Question." "'Is it true that your campaign advocated for a light schedule?' MSNBC's Rachel Maddow asked Clinton during an interview on Monday. Clinton neither confirmed nor denied the question. 'I really don't have any knowledge of that," Clinton said. 'I'm not saying that nobody representing me or the other campaigns didn't express any opinion.'" (Chuck Ross, "Hillary Dodges Question Of Whether Campaign Pressured DNC For Limited Debate Schedule [VIDEO]," The Daily Caller , 1/18/16)

Wasserman Schultz Also Denied The Allegations, Saying That The DNC Developed "A Schedule That We Felt Was Going… To Maximize The Opportunity For Voters To See Our Candidates." "Wasserman Schultz has been confronted repeatedly over the debate logistics. Top party officials, such as Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, have accused the Florida Congresswoman of acting in an authoritarian manner by shutting down dissenters who want more debates. Wasserman Schultz has denied the accusations, however. 'I did my best to make sure, along with my staff and along with our debate partners, to come up with a schedule that we felt was going…to maximize the opportunity for voters to see our candidates,' she said over the weekend." (Chuck Ross, "Hillary Dodges Question Of Whether Campaign Pressured DNC For Limited Debate Schedule [VIDEO]," The Daily Caller , 1/18/16)

Emails Show That The Clinton Campaign Worked With The DNC To "Limit The Number Of Debates" And "Eliminate The Possibility Of One On One Debates"

On April 27th 2015 Charlie Baker Sent A Memo Saying That It Was In The Clinton Campaign's Best Interests To "Limit The Number Of Debates," "Start The Debates As Late As Possible," And "Create A Schedule That Would Allow The Later Debates To Be Cancelled." "Through internal discussions, we concluded that it was in our interest to: 1) limit the number of debates (and the number in each state); 2) start the debates as late as possible; 3) keep debates out of the busy window between February 1 and February 27, 2016 (Iowa to South Carolina); 4) create a schedule that would allow the later debates to be cancelled if the race is for practical purposes over; 5) encourage an emphasis on local issues and local media participants in the debate formats; and 6) ensure a format that provides equal time for all candidates and does not give the moderator any discretion to focus on one candidate." (Charlie Baker, Email To John Podesta Et. Al., "Revised Debate Memo," John Podesta Wikileaks, 4/27/15)

Baker Said That He Had "[Discussed] These Goals With The DNC" And That "This Announcement Prior To The Actual Entry Into The Race Of Other Candidates Would Strengthen [The DNC's] Hand As They Lock In A Schedule." "Through discussion of these goals with the DNC their current plan is to begin a debate schedule that would commence in early October, with one debate a month, one each in the early primary and caucus states, and the remaining 2 post South Carolina (we will need to push them to post March 1 and then the later 2 debates would be cancelled if the race ends). The DNC's current plan is to release the attached press release (which lacks this specificity but confirms the number and start window for the debates). The other campaigns have advocated (not surprisingly) for more debates and for the schedule to start significantly earlier. Mo and Anita believe that this announcement prior to the actual entry into the race of other candidates will strengthen their hand as they lock a schedule in with local media partners and state parties." (Charlie Baker, Email To John Podesta Et. Al., "Revised Debate Memo," John Podesta Wikileaks, 4/27/15)

Baker Went On To Say That It Was In The Clinton's Campaign's Interests To Keep The Debates "Multicandidate" And "Eliminate The Possibility Of One On One Debates." "One remaining issue is the criteria for participation: we believe it is important to the extent possible to keep the debates 'multicandidate' and to eliminate the possibility of one on one debates; the most likely standard that would achieve this result is to allow any announced candidate who is: 1) a Democrat and, 2) who meets some threshold of viability (1 percent) in either a national or state specific (e.g. Iowa, NH) to participate." (Charlie Baker, Email To John Podesta Et. Al., "Revised Debate Memo," John Podesta Wikileaks, 4/27/15)

EMAILS REVEAL THAT WASSERMAN SCHULTZ'S REPLACEMENT HAS BEEN NO LESS BIASED IN FAVORING CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN AND LEAKING SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Donna Brazile Was Tapped To Run The DNC Through The Election After Wasserman Schultz Stepped Down. "Donna Brazile, a Democratic Party stalwart and longtime Clinton family friend and political ally, is slated to run the DNC through the election. Brazile, who briefly served as chair in 2011, will temporarily suspend her role as a CNN contributor while she serves as DNC interim chair. And she's still subject to a party vote this week in Philadelphia." (Marc Caputo And Daniel Strauss, "Wasserman Schultz Steps Down As DNC Chair," Politico, 7/24/16)

Prior To The Flint, Michigan Democrat Debate Brazile Emailed The Clinton Campaign Details About A Question That Would Be Asked

On March 5th 2016 Donna Brazile Emailed John Podesta And Palmieri That "One Of The Questions Directed To HRC Tomorrow Is From A Woman With A Rash" Regarding The Democrat Debate Was Over The Water Crisis In Flint. "Her family has lead poison and she will ask what, if anything, will Hillary do as president to help the ppl of Flint. Folks, I did a service project today. It's so tragic. And what's worse, some homes have not been tested and it's important to encourage seniors to also get tested." (Donna Brazile, Email To John Podesta And Jennifer Palmieri, "One Of The Questions Directed To HRC Tomorrow Is From A Woman With A Rash," John Podesta Wikileaks, 3/5/16)

A Few Days Later, Brazile Emailed Another Question To The Clinton Campaign With The Subject Line "From Time To Time I Get The Questions In Advance" With The Promise To Send More

On March 12th 2016 Donna Brazile Sent An Email To Jennifer Palmieri With A Question On The Death Penalty That Concerned Her "About HRC." "Here's one that worries me about HRC. DEATH PENALTY 19 states and the District of Columbia have banned the death penalty. 31 states, including Ohio, still have the death penalty. According to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, since 1973, 156 people have been on death row and later set free. Since 1976, 1,414 people have been executed in the U.S. That's 11% of Americans who were sentenced to die, but later exonerated and freed. Should Ohio and the 30 other states join the current list and abolish the death penalty?" (Donna Brazile, Email To Jennifer Palmieri, "Re: From Time To Time I Get The Questions In Advance," John Podesta Wikileaks, 3/12/16)

  • In Response To Jennifer Palmieri, Brazile Responded "I'll Send A Few More." "I rarely hear it. I'll send a few more. Though some questions Roland submitted" (Donna Brazile, Email To Jennifer Palmieri, "Re: From Time To Time I Get The Questions In Advance," John Podesta Wikileaks, 3/12/16)