DNC Chair Donna Brazile has been on the defensive ever since WikiLeaks released an email from their Podesta file implying collusion between the media, Brazile, and the Clinton campaign. In the email, titled “From time to time I get the questions in advance,” Brazile asks the Clinton campaign about a debate question that “worries” her.
The question, which dealt with the death penalty, was identical to the question co-moderator Roland Martin sent to CNN the day before the March 13th primary debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
After a protracted discussion with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly Wednesday in which Brazile tested out several defenses unsuccessfully, she finally questioned the legitimacy of the emails themselves, suggesting they’d been “doctored.”
Democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) has also questioned the authenticity of the leaks, telling NBC political reporter Kailani Koenig:
“Generally, if people are engaging in cyber-attacks against United States to steal documents and then use them to destabilize an election, why would you assume that the content, ‘Oh, but we’re gonna be scrupulously honest about not tinkering with the content.’ In fact, I would plead the working assumption should be the reverse. Hold on a second here—if you’re trying to influence an election at the end, why would we assume any of it’s true?
One of the bits of email concerned me and it was an email that talked about the fact that there was some deal that I was gonna be VP a year in advance. That is completely false…either the person sending that email didn’t know what he or she was talking about or the content of it was manipulated.
That’s the one email with respect to me and I can tell you it’s categorically untrue, so I gotta wonder about the whole body of these emails. You know, what is the truth to untruth ratio?”
Kaine’s been saying hacked Wikileaks emails might not be accurate, so asked him whether he had any examples or had heard if one wasn’t real pic.twitter.com/G2S38VS0TM
— Kailani Koenig (@kailanikm) October 20, 2016
After a protracted discussion with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly Wednesday in which Brazile tested out several defenses unsuccessfully, she finally questioned the legitimacy of the emails themselves, suggesting they’d been “doctored.”
It appears that the folks at WikiLeaks don’t like their content being questioned, and have come forward with a tweet that’s equal parts cryptic, and unnervingly specific:
We have a suprise in store for @TimKaine and @DonnaBrazile.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 20, 2016
What this “surprise” actually is remains to be seen, but whatever it is, Brazile and Kaine will surely be put on the defensive after its release.