WASHINGTON — (CNN) Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said Tuesday that Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s claim that Democratic National Committee officers were involved in the decision to limit the Democratic debates to six is false.
“I want to make it very clear that the chairwoman had claimed a month ago that she had spoken with, communicated and consulted with officers of the DNC about her decision to limit debates to six and to put this retribution policy in place, this exclusivity clause. And that never occurred,” said Gabbard, a vice chair of the DNC, on CNN.
“I can tell you, speaking for myself, that I didn’t find out about her decision until after the fact. There was no consultation and no communication.”
Gabbard previously said she was disinvited from Tuesday night’s first Democratic debate after voicing a call for more of them.
“We have some very serious candidates running for president. And the policy that the chairwoman has put in place basically says that if they participate in any other debate outside of the DNC six sanctioned debates, then they’ll be punished. They won’t be allowed to participate in any of the DNC debates,” she said Tuesday. “This is just wrong, in my view.”
Gabbard said to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Monday on “The Situation Room” that she was told her vocal support for more debates had made her “no longer welcome to come to the debate.”
Gabbard said the message was conveyed to her chief-of-staff from the chief-of-staff of Wasserman Schultz.
“The prevailing message of that was that because I continued to call for more debates, that I should not go to the debate in Las Vegas,” Gabbard previously said. “The issue here is not about me saying, ‘Boo hoo, I’m going to miss the party.’ The issue here is one of democracy and freedom of speech.”
Both Bernie Sanders’ and Martin O’Malley’s campaigns have called for more debates. But Wasserman Schultz has remained steadfast in her decision that there will only be six sanctioned debates for the Democratic presidential candidates.
Committee leaders communicated Monday that the focus at the debate should be on the candidates present and the difference from Republicans.
“The focus of the debate in Nevada as well as the other debates and forums in the coming weeks should be on the candidates who will take the stage, and their vision to move America forward,” DNC press secretary Holly Shulman said in a statement to CNN. “All that was asked of Ms. Gabbard’s staff was to prioritize our candidates and this important opportunity they have to introduce themselves to the American people. The Democratic Party is a big tent party and we embrace the diversity of opinions and ideas that come from our members.”
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