Subject: RE: The Hill inquiry follow-up
From: "Miranda, Luis" <[email-masked]>
To: Lisa Hagen <[email-masked]>, "Paustenbach, Mark" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 20 May 2016 13:53:26 -0700

Lisa, some background for you to consider:

The DNC Chair has repeatedly said on the air and otherwise that it’s not her job to tell either candidate to get out and has never called for anyone to get out of the race. She has talked in very positive terms<https://www.democrats.org/Post/dnc-chair-statement-on-april-26-primary-results>about both of our candidates<https://www.democrats.org/Post/dnc-chair-statement-on-south-carolina-primary-results-feb-27> and the substantive campaigns they’ve run<https://www.democrats.org/Post/dnc-chair-statement-on-new-hampshire-primary-results>. As for the stuff that Joe and Mika tried to rehash this morning about debates, the fact is our debates earned far better ratings<https://medium.com/@MiraLuisDC/democratic-debate-ratings-rank-far-ahead-of-most-primary-debates-889d8ab42ca#.qepssg11f> overall this year than they did in past cycles. And as NBC knows all too well, when we were able to get both campaigns to agree, we added four.

The rules in place for this election have been pretty much the same for several cycles. In fact, the major change from 2008 – when Obama beat Clinton --- is that there are actually LESS unpledged “super” delegates, now down to 15% from 20% prior to the change. No one wrote or rewrote any rules to help or hurt any specific candidate, these are the Party rules.

The single biggest factor determining the nominee (85%) is the participation of voters in primaries and caucuses. You can see a post we did here that lays out the facts on Super Delegates<https://medium.com/@patricetaylor/here-are-the-actual-facts-about-super-delegates-7660c5c7dd1#.288n079v7>. It also debunks the false myths about Iowa.

The DNC’s delegate selection rules for this primary were set before any of these candidates declared, and are consistent with the rules in place for several cycles – including 2008 when Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton.

There’s just no evidence that the process has been rigged. It certainly wasn’t rigged in Nevada this weekend, which was not a DNC event but a state party one. But don’t take it from us, here’s what Jon Ralston wrote:

http://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/17/ralston-reports-dems-need-unity-but-theyre-getting-mutiny-nevada-democratic-convention-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/84521894/?mc_cid=6001cbd708&mc_eid=b3f6d44b0b

And here’s what Politifact said: http://www.politifact.com/nevada/statements/2016/may/18/jeff-weaver/allegations-fraud-and-misconduct-nevada-democratic/

<http://www.politifact.com/nevada/statements/2016/may/18/jeff-weaver/allegations-fraud-and-misconduct-nevada-democratic/>

________________________________
From: Lisa Hagen [[email-masked]]
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 2:18 PM
To: Paustenbach, Mark
Cc: Miranda, Luis
Subject: Re: The Hill inquiry follow-up

No problem, thanks for letting me know Mark. Talk soon!

On Fri, May 20, 2016 at 2:16 PM, Paustenbach, Mark <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>> wrote:
Hey Lisa, sorry for the delay. Will give you a ring here shortly. Best, Mark

Mark Paustenbach
National Press Secretary &
Deputy Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
W: 202.863.8148<tel:202.863.8148>
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

From: Lisa Hagen [mailto:[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>]
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 2:03 PM
To: Miranda, Luis
Cc: Paustenbach, Mark

Subject: Re: The Hill inquiry follow-up

That's no problem, Luis. And Mark, what time do you think you'll give me a call? I'm on a tight deadline, so the earlier, the better would be greatly appreciated. It shouldn't take long at all. Best number to reach me is 202-628-8535<tel:202-628-8535> (cell is 732-512-7845<tel:732-512-7845> just in case) Thanks!

Best,
Lisa Hagen

On Fri, May 20, 2016 at 1:56 PM, Miranda, Luis <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>> wrote:
I'm travelling in Philly today, Mark will give you a call.

Sent via the Samsung GALAXY S®4, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

-------- Original message --------
From: Lisa Hagen <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>
Date: 05/20/2016 13:55 (GMT-05:00)
To: "Miranda, Luis" <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>
Cc: "Paustenbach, Mark" <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>>
Subject: Re: The Hill inquiry follow-up
Hi Luis,

I appreciate you responding back and sending over some links. Have a good day, and weekend.

Best,
Lisa

On Fri, May 20, 2016 at 12:03 PM, Miranda, Luis <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>> wrote:
Hi Lisa, we've said all we need to say on it. We put out a statement earlier this week: http://www.democrats.org/Post/dnc-statement-on-nevada-democratic-party-letter

And both the Chair and I have been on the air making it clear we need to focus on being united and winning in the general election:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/280370-dnc-chair-responds-to-jeff-weavers-throwing-shade-remark

https://twitter.com/dncpress/status/733086721575915520

________________________________
From: Lisa Hagen [[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>]
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 11:31 AM
To: Miranda, Luis
Subject: The Hill inquiry follow-up
Hi Luis,

My name is Lisa Hagen, and I'm a campaign reporter with The Hill newspaper in Washington. I reached out to both you and Mark yesterday and was hoping I could talk to one of you about the fallout from the Nevada convention and the back-and-forth between Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz and the Sanders campaign. I wanted to give you guys a chance to respond and be included in the story. If you can email or call me back as soon as possible, that'd be greatly appreciated. My contact info is below in my signature. Thanks in advance!

--
Lisa Hagen
Campaign Reporter | The Hill
O: 202-628-8535<tel:202-628-8535> | C: 732-512-7845<tel:732-512-7845>
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> | @LA_Hagen

--
Lisa Hagen
Campaign Reporter | The Hill
O: 202-628-8535<tel:202-628-8535> | C: 732-512-7845<tel:732-512-7845>
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> | @LA_Hagen

--
Lisa Hagen
Campaign Reporter | The Hill
O: 202-628-8535<tel:202-628-8535> | C: 732-512-7845<tel:732-512-7845>
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> | @LA_Hagen

--
Lisa Hagen
Campaign Reporter | The Hill
O: 202-628-8535 | C: 732-512-7845
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> | @LA_Hagen