*In a TIME.com column posted today (March 17), former DNC chair Donna Brazile admits she shared CNN Town Hall topics with the Clinton campaign during the 2016 primary, a revelation first mentioned in the WikiLeaks dump.
Brazile Writes:
Then in October, a subsequent release of emails revealed that among the many things I did in my role as a Democratic operative and D.N.C. Vice Chair prior to assuming the interim D.N.C. Chair position was to share potential town hall topics with the Clinton campaign. I had been working behind the scenes to add more town hall events and debates to the primary calendar, and I helped ensure those events included diverse moderators and addressed topics vital to minority communities. My job was to make all our Democratic candidates look good, and I worked closely with both campaigns to make that happen. But sending those emails was a mistake I will forever regret.
Brazile had been a contributor with both CNN and ABC News at the time, but was temporarily suspended in July when she was named interim DNC chair after another WikiLeaks dump forced the resignation of then-chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Brazile resigned from CNN, and the network gave this statement: “CNN never gave Brazile access to any questions, prep material, attendee list, background information or meetings in advance of a town hall or debate. We are completely uncomfortable with what we have learned about her interactions with the Clinton campaign while she was a CNN contributor.”
In her TIME.com column, Brazile continues:
By stealing all the DNC’s emails and then selectively releasing those few, the Russians made it look like I was in the tank for Secretary Clinton. Despite the strong, public support I received from top Sanders campaign aides in the wake of those leaks, the media narrative played out just as the Russians had hoped, leaving Sanders supporters understandably angry and sowing division in our ranks.