Elizabeth Warren: The Democratic Primary Was Rigged for Hillary Clinton

Photo via AP/Jacquelyn Martin

Elizabeth Warren did not mince words when asked Thursday whether the DNC was “rigged” for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential primary. “Yes,” she said.

Her comments come in the wake of a piece that appeared in Politico today from former interim DNC head Donna Brazile. Brazile argued that a contract between the Democratic Party and Clinton amounted to a “secret takeover” that gave control of the party to the candidate’s campaign long before the primary, in which she faced a challenge to her left from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“This is a real problem,” Warren said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “What we’ve gotta do as Democrats now is we’ve got to hold this party accountable.”

She said the issue would prove a test of new DNC leader Tom Perez, who will have to inspire “confidence that the party is working for Democrats rather than Democrats are working for the party.

“Either he’s going to succeed by bringing Bernie Sanders and Bernie Sanders’ representatives into this process and they’re gonna say it’s fair, it works, we all believe it, or he’s gonna fail. And I very much hope he succeeds.”

Warren, who is up for re-election in 2018 and is considered a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, opted against endorsing either candidate in last year’s primary.

Sanders has not yet responded to the explosive report, which is excerpted from Brazile’s upcoming book.

Do you agree with notion that Democratic nomination was rigged in Hillary Clinton’s favor?

Elizabeth Warren: Yes https://t.co/BlTHfSluib pic.twitter.com/czLRI8KMvc

— CNN (@CNN) November 2, 2017