DNC Apologizes to Bernie Sanders for "Inexcusable Remarks" in Email Leak

The DNC has apologized to Bernie Sanders and his supporters for the "inexcusable remarks" uncovered in this weekend's email leak.

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The Democratic National Committee has formally apologized to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his supporters. In a statement released Monday afternoon, the DNC offered "a sincere apology" for the controversial remarks exchanged during email conversations which were recently released via WikiLeaks. The email leak, which consisted of 20,000 emails, came just days before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia that will see Hillary Clinton become the Democratic nominee.

"These comments do not reflect the values of the DNC or our steadfast commitment to neutrality during the nominating process," the statement said. "The DNC does not—and will not—tolerate disrespectful language exhibited toward our candidates. Individual staffers have also rightfully apologized for their comments, and the DNC is taking appropriate action to ensure it never happens again." 

Read the statement in full below:

In the wake of the email leak, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced Sunday that she would step down by the end of this week’s convention. "I know that electing Hillary Clinton as our next president is critical for America’s future," she said in a statement to the Washington Post. "I look forward to serving as a surrogate for her campaign in Florida and across the country to ensure her victory."

The email dump suggested that Democrats had been working actively against the Sanders campaign from the start, with one email theorizing that Sanders' had "skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage" and that the party’s "Southern Baptist peeps" might have an issue with Sanders if they could paint him as an atheist.

Bernie Sanders is expected to speak at the convention Monday night. "It is critically important that we do not let up in our fight for a political revolution," Sanders said in an email to supporters. "Tonight at the Democratic National Convention I will address the future of Our Revolution and I hope you will both tune in to watch, and join our effort after." But Sanders is also cautioning against protests on the DNC floor from his supporters.

"I ask you as a personal courtesy to me to not engage in any kind of protest on the floor," Sanders added in a text message to his supporters Monday, Yahooreports. "It's of utmost importance you explain this to your delegations."

Though his supporters were urged to abstain from protesting on the floor, many of them have become visibly  worked up on social media following the controversial email leaks. On Monday, Symone Sanders, Sanders’ former national press secretary, went to Twitter to dispute the claims that the election was stolen from Sanders.

 

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