Hillary Clinton wanted say in Democratic convention chief even before campaign began

Hillary Clinton had expected to have a say in the Democratic convention’s CEO and was stunned when Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the then-chair of the Democratic National Committee, hired someone without checking with her first, according to newly leaked emails released Monday by WikiLeaks.

Mrs. Clinton also seemed to take a swing at President Obama’s political operation, saying they “didn’t care to weigh in.”

The email exchange between Mrs. Clinton and her top campaign aides came even before she announced her second bid for the White House, and her concern at not being asked to approve the convention CEO — even before she was a candidate — suggests just how confident she was in her race.

Robby Mook, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign manager, said he was “distressed,” that Ms. Wasserman Schultz hired the Rev. Leah Daughtry even though the Clinton team had demanded consultation.

Mr. Mook said he was stunned that the White House wasn’t consulted either.

“Clearly the WH either didn’t care or didn’t weigh in. Probably the former,” Mrs. Clinton said in a reply back.

A separate set of hacked emails released in July, just ahead of the convention, showed Ms. Wasserman Schultz and her team did try to assist Mrs. Clinton’s presidential bid and plotted ways to derail her challenger, Sen. Bernard Sanders, who pushed the race far longer than Mrs. Clinton had wanted.