Emails Reveal Clinton Camp Plotted Against Head of Party

Democratic Party head Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepped down just before the convention in July. But emails released by WikiLeaks Tuesday reveal the Clinton campaign was plotting how to get rid of her months earlier, the AP reports. A memo from a campaign aide and included in campaign chair John Podesta's hacked emails reads: "Our dealings with party leadership have been marked by challenges, often requiring multiple meetings and phone calls to resolve relatively simple matters." The campaign thought about forcing Wasserman Schultz out at the convention or taking away her powers and leaving her as a figurehead or co-chair. It turns out they didn't have to do either, as Wasserman Schutlz resigned on her own after other leaked emails showed the party secretly backing Clinton over Sanders when it was supposed to remain neutral, according to the Hill.

Meanwhile, other emails leaked Tuesday feature Podesta saying the campaign is "going to have to dump all those emails" after the New York Times broke the story about Clinton and aides using private accounts. And while many are using this as evidence the campaign wanted to hide evidence, the Washington Post reports context within the email exchange makes it clear that wasn't the case. Rather, it appears Podesta was advocating for making the emails public, using a phrasing similar to "the typical DC usage of 'Friday news dump.'" In fact, the email exchange references a crisis management specialist who advises people in scandals to "get the facts out" and had advised the Clinton campaign to do just that. (More Hillary Clinton stories.)