Hillary Clinton's Campaign Manager Calls De Blasio 'Terrorist' In Hacked Email
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Hillary Clinton's campaign was not originally happy with Mayor Bill de Blasio holding his endorsement for the former secretary of state until last October.
In a hacked email posted by WikiLeaks titled "TWEETS: Bill de Blasio on HRC speech/Bernie," Robby Mook, Clinton's campaign manager, referred to the New York City mayor as a "terrorist."
The email shows Mook being forwarded two quotes from de Blasio. One said, "I've always liked what I heard from Bernie Sanders," and the other said, "No .. I'm waiting to hear … her larger vision to addressing income inequality."
Mook responded, "Wow. What a terrorist."
Clinton's communications director Jennifer Palmieri responded, "Told you."
CBS2 previously reported de Blasio initially refused to endorse Clinton, saying he needed to hear more detailed policies, most notably about income inequality.
Appearing on "Meet the Press" the April 2015 morning of Clinton's campaign announcement, he said that unlike other New York politicians, including both senators and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, he would not automatically be backing the former secretary of state.
"I think she's one of the most qualified people to ever run for this office and, by the way, thoroughly vetted," de Blasio said then. "But we need to see the substance."
He stuck to that script in the coming months even as criticism mounted within the party. He also stuck to it during the rise of Bernie Sanders, who shares many of de Blasio's left-leaning views.
In an interview with the Observer on Thursday, de Blasio brushed off the comment.
"Robby Mook called me this morning," de Blasio told the Observer. "I informed him I was a loyal American."
He continued, "I understand the heat of the battle. People are upset because they want what they want and we just weren't in agreement at that point. But Robby and Jen are two people I know and like a lot."
Clinton's campaign said the FBI was investigating who hacked Podesta's email. Spokesman Glen Caplin said Wednesday it's "clear" that the hacking of Podesta's email "is the work of the Russian government." He attributed that to the FBI, though the bureau has not said so publicly.
Caplin said Trump's campaign needs to explain its "possible ties to foreign espionage."
Meanwhile, late Wednesday, it appeared someone hacked Podesta's verified Twitter account and posted a message saying he had "switched teams" and was supporting Trump. The message was deleted within a few minutes of it appearing. "We can confirm that John's Twitter account was hacked, which would explain the message," spokesman Nick Merrill said.
U.S. intelligence officials last week blamed the Russian government for a series of breaches intended to influence the presidential election. The Russians deny involvement.
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