On Monday, WikiLeaks released its latest batch of hacked e-mails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and provided another case of collusion between the campaign and the news media as now-interim DNC chair and recently-axed CNN political commentator Donna Brazile shared additional debate and town hall questions in advance with the Clinton campaign while Clinton was running against socialist Bernie Sanders.
One of the new e-mails revealed Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri told Brazile on March 12 that a CNN/TV One News town hall question she had already been sent about the death penalty did worry her but she “can share it” even though “[n]ot everyone likes her answer.”
In response, Brazile admitted that she “rarely hear[d] it” and then shockingly promised to “send a few more” to aide the Clintons “[t]hough some questions Roland [Martin] submitted.” It should be noted that the e-mail chain didn’t go onto include any other specifics beyond a previous dump, but one would think WikiLeaks could be holding it for future ones.
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It should also be pointed out that this newly-published e-mail came after a WikiLeaks dump on October 12 showing Brazile had told the Clinton campaign earlier on March 12 that “[f]rom time to time I get the questions in advance” and informed Palmieri that the death penalty question a man would ask her had her “worrie[d] about HRC.”
From there, she provided a word-for-word question about the death penalty that was then asked in the CNN/News One event. In the time since, it was spun as isolated and denied by Brazile to the point that she whined to the Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly that she was a Christian woman being persecuted over it.
The second bombshell e-mail unearthed in Monday’s dump was dated March 5 with Brazile writing to Podesta and Palmieri tipping them off to one question Clinton would receive at a March 6 CNN debate concerned the Flint, Michigan water crisis: “One of the questions directed to HRC tomorrow is from a woman with a rash.”
“Her family has lead poison and she will ask what, if anything, will Hillary do as president to help the [people] of Flint,” Brazile added before explaining that she herself had done “a service project” in the city and how horrible the situation had become.
Sure enough, a CNN debate that day featured a question from a woman named Lee-Anne Walters discussing that topic (which was moderated by AC360 host Anderson Cooper and CNN Tonight host Don Lemon).
Since the latest installment via WikiLeaks, Business Insider's Oliver Darcy, The Daily Caller's Chuck Ross, and TVNewser (among others) reported early Monday afternoon that Brazile will not be returning as a CNN political commentator following her interim stint as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
