Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez was given three opportunities to address criticisms leveled against former DNC leadership that the Democratic primary was rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton. Three times Perez dodged the questions.
Each time Kevin Cirilli of Bloomberg asked Perez for his thoughts on how the DNC operated last year, Perez avoided the heart of the issue. Perez stated the issue was irrelevant to the elections occurring now, attempted to explain that a special deal between the DNC and Hillary Clinton was normal, and claimed the same arrangement was extended to Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT).
Perez stated:
"The memorandum that you refer to also has a very explicit clause that says this only applies to the general election and it will not affect anything in the primary."
That answer, in part, shows why the once undisclosed deal is turning heads. An agreement was reached between a party and candidate before it was certain who the nominee would be.
Instead of addressing the perceived problem, Perez explained what the DNC needs to do to keep its support.
We have to build trust in the process and in everything we do. I accept responsibility for that and have taken responsibility for that - make that the process is fair and that people feel like voters are being heard and people feel like every candidate has a fair shake. That's what our North Star is, and has been, and will continue to be under my leadership.
That trust has been, unquestionably, damaged.
When asked if it was fair for the memorandum to be signed in the first place, and if this will be allowed to happen again in 2020, Perez dodged a third time. Dismissing the first half of the question, Perez says that in the future, any opportunity offered to one candidate will be extended to others.
This isn't the first time that Perez has faced questions regarding the DNC-Clinton agreement. As reported by Timothy on Sunday, MSNBC's Chuck Todd grilled the DNC chairman on "Meet the Press."
Watch part of the Bloomberg interview below.