Debbie Wasserman Schultz to Resign as DNC Chair After Convention

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, will resign from her post at the end of the upcoming convention in Philadelphia as the party comes together under a semblance of unity to appoint Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president. The Florida congresswoman's resignation comes after a series of emails leaked by WikiLeaks that allegedly showed the DNC was working to undermine the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

In a statement, Wasserman Schultz said she would open and close the convention and address the delegates.

"My first priority has always been serving the people of the 23rd district of Florida and I look forward to continuing to do that as their member of Congress for years to come," she said in the statement. "As the mother of three amazing children and the Representative of Florida's 23rd congressional district, I know that electing Hillary Clinton as our next president is critical for America's future. I look forward to serving as a surrogate for her campaign in Florida and across the country to ensure her victory.

"Going forward, the best way for me to accomplish those goals is to step down as Party Chair at the end of this convention."

The 19,000 emails released Friday exchanged between DNC staffers showed a fair amount of prejudice against Sanders. The emails purported to show that DNC staffers mocked the Sanders campaign and reacted negatively to criticism in the media that they were biased toward Clinton.

Some of the emails, curated by The Intercept, show that Wasserman Schultz reacted angrily when a staffer forwarded her an email with a link to a Breitbart News story with remarks from MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski calling for Schultz to resign for her perceived bias against Sanders.

"This is the LAST straw. Please call Phil a Griffin," Schultz responded, referring to MSNBC's president. "This is outrageous. She needs to apologize."

Another email sent by a DNC staffer in April pitched a negative Sanders story to communications director Luis Miranda with the narrative that Sanders never got his act together.

DNC Vice Chair Donna Brazile will serve as interim chair throughout the election.

Clinton's campaign manager Robby Mook said Russian hackers released the emails. "I don't think it's coincidental that these emails were released on the eve of our convention here, and I think that's disturbing," he told CNN's Jake Tapper.

In June, it was reported that Russian hackers breached the DNC and stole opposition research on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Russian officials discarded the claim.

Sanders, who said he was disappointed but not shocked at the revelations, issued a statement saying Wasserman Schultz made the right decision for the future of the Democratic party. Sanders and his supporters have long accused the party chair of being partial toward Clinton.

In a statement, President Obama said Wasserman Schultz's leadership brought Democrats together not only for his reelection campaign but also for accomplishing the shared goals of the party. He called Wasserman Schultz to say he was grateful.

This report will be updated.

Image Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Creative Commons