The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Monday apologized to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for internal emails that appeared to show party officials plotting against his presidential bid.
“On behalf of everyone at the DNC, we want to offer a deep and sincere apology to Senator Sanders, his supporters, and the entire Democratic Party for the inexcusable remarks made over email,” DNC officials said in the statement.
{mosads}”These comments do not reflect the values of the DNC or our steadfast commitment to neutrality during the nominating process. The DNC does not — and will not — tolerate disrespectful language exhibited toward our candidates,” it continued.
“Individual staffers have also rightfully apologized for their comments, and the DNC is taking appropriate action to ensure it never happens again.”
The statement was issued on behalf of seven top DNC officials but did not include the name of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), who announced Sunday she’d step down as DNC chairwoman at the end of the party’s convention this week in the wake of the email leaks.
WikiLeaks published 20,000 emails on Friday that had been stolen from the DNC’s system earlier this year. The emails showed top DNC officials discussing ways to undercut Sanders’s presidential campaign, something the he had long accused party officials of doing.
The release of the emails has stoked furor among Sanders supporters, many of whom are protesting at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Monday’s statement included Donna Brazile, the interim DNC chair; Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake; DNC treasurer Andrew Tobias; vice chairs Raymond Buckley, Maria Elena Durazo and R.T. Rybak, the former mayor of Minneapolis; and Henry Muñoz III, the DNC’s national finance committee chair.
