PHILADELPHIA — Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) condemned the content of the Democratic National Committee’s leaked internal emails, specifically a message about the party’s outreach to Latinos.
Rebecca Christopher, a DNC official, wrote via email, “Attached is a script for a new video we’d like to use to mop up some more taco bowl engagement, and demonstrate the Trump actually isn’t trying.” Trump tweeted an image of himself eating a taco bowl on Cinco de Mayo.
When asked if the use of the term “taco bowl engagement” conflicts with the Democratic Party’s message on immigration reform, Johnson said those comments should not be tolerated.
“I’m unfamiliar with that particular issue. I would have to look into it. It sounds inappropriate. It sounds offensive. If it is as I think it is, it’s something that should not be tolerated. Our Hispanic brothers and sisters should be referred to with terms that are endearing that are as opposed to any other connotation from it,” he told PJM at the Democratic National Convention.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton named Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) an honorary chairwoman of her campaign after Wasserman Schultz stepped down as DNC chair amid the leaked email scandal.
“I think Debbie Wasserman Schultz has led us to this point. It’s indeed unfortunate the emails that were hacked were released and it is indeed unfortunate that what was in those hacked emails exists. It should not have happened. It was wrong,” Johnson said.
“We need to root out that kind of behavior within the DNC so that all the candidates feel like they are getting a fair shake and so Debbie Wasserman Schultz decided to resign because it happened on her watch. It was the right thing to do and I think people are ready to move on from here,” he added.
PJM asked Johnson if there should be an internal investigation of the emails that showed some staffers favoring Clinton over former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during the primary.
“I’m sure that the investigation is ongoing. I’m sure we’ll see further emails released throughout the week. It’s something that the party has to deal with. I know we will make sure the party deals with it and we simply do not need to have this kind of misconduct tolerated within the party,” he said.
Julian Assange, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, has promised that there will be a lot more “material” leaked during the course of the election process.
“What we have right now is the Hillary Clinton campaign using a speculative allegation about hacks that have occurred in the past to try and divert attention from our emails, another separate issue that WikiLeaks has published,” he said, according to The Hill. “I think this raises a very serious question, which is that the natural instincts of Hillary Clinton and the people around her, that when confronted with a serious domestic political scandal, that she tries to blame the Russians, blame the Chinese, etc.”
Assange also said if Clinton “does that when she’s in government, that’s a political, managerial style that can lead to conflict.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member