Debbie Wasserman Schultz made decision to resign: Clinton campaign

PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Clinton’s campaign said on Monday that it was Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s own decision to resign her post and gave no indication Ms. Wasserman Schultz was planning to give up her role opening the Democratic National Convention later Monday.

“This was the chairwoman’s decision to step down,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told reporters. “She reached out to Secretary Clinton to notify her about that. The secretary released a statement yesterday thanking her for her work.”

Ms. Wasserman Schultz was jeered at a Florida delegation event earlier Monday, but has indicated she plans to gavel open the convention proceedings Monday afternoon.

“The chairwoman put out a statement yesterday that she plans to gavel in, and that’s what she [has] said,” Mr. Mook said.

Ms. Wasserman Schultz announced Sunday she is resigning as DNC chair after the convention. The announcement came after a cache of internal DNC emails, in which DNC officials were apparently discussing ways to undermine Sen. Bernard Sanders’ campaign, was released in recent days.

Mr. Mook said experts have indicated Russia is behind the hack.

“What the experts are saying, what the experts said when this breach happened at the DNC was that they believed that it was Russian state actors who took these emails,” he said.

“What further experts are saying is that then, because they possessed those emails, that Russian state actors were feeding the emails to hackers for the purpose of helping Donald Trump,” Mr. Mook said.

Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, mocked the suggestion Monday morning.

“The new joke in town is that Russia leaked the disastrous DNC e-mails, which should never have been written (stupid), because Putin likes me,” he tweeted.

“Crooked Hillary Clinton knew everything that her ’servant’ was doing at the DNC - they just got caught, that’s all! They laughed at Bernie,” Mr. Trump also tweeted.