Former DNC head 'absolutely' questions legitimacy of Trump's election

WASHINGTON — Donna Brazile, who led the Democratic National Committee during the most tumultuous days of the 2016 campaign, says that revelations about Russian meddling makes her "absolutely" question the legitimacy of Donald Trump's election.

But impeachment?

Not yet, she said in an interview with Capital Download as she promoted her new book, titled Hacks. She urged restive Democrats to delay talk of trying to remove Trump from office — probably not a realistic prospect anyway while Republicans control both houses of Congress — until special counsel Robert Mueller and House and Senate committees conclude their investigations into what Moscow did and whether Trump associates colluded with them.

"If the impeachment process needs to be started, then we need to wait until we have all of the evidence on the table," Brazile told USA TODAY's video newsmaker series. 

Her comments echoed those of Hillary Clinton, who told Mother Jones magazine that Moscow's meddling and voter suppression efforts in some key states raised  "lots of questions" about the election's legitimacy. Her comments prompted a Trump tweetstorm: "Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can’t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years!"

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A year after the voting, the 2016 election doesn't seem to be over yet.

Brazile's book — Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House, published by Hachette — portrays both the chaos caused by Russian hacking and the dysfunction of the Clinton campaign. 

Among other things, Brazile reveals that she considered whether the DNC should discuss whether to replace Clinton as the Democratic nominee after she collapsed after an event commemorating the Sept. 11 attacks in New York. Brazile, a longtime activist and organizer who managed Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign, stepped in to run the DNC as the convention was opening in Philadelphia.

Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, then the Democratic chair, was forced out when the release of DNC emails raised questions about whether the party process had been rigged to favor Clinton over challenger Bernie Sanders. 

"I'm not the person they go to first," Brazile said. "But I'm the one that they come to to clean up and rebuild."

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Donna Brazile on Capital Download at the 2016 Democratic convention

Brazile, 57, predicted more officials from both parties would be ensnared in allegations of sexual misconduct and assault, saying the problem of sexual harassment pervades academia, the news media, politics and society as a whole.

"We're going to have more names come out because women are finally empowered to tell their truth," she said. "I've had male bosses who tried to browbeat me into things that I would not do, and of course because I can stand up for myself, I said, 'Hell, no.'"

She also predicted a record-sized Democratic field for the White House in 2020. Trump already has announced his plan to run for re-election.

"I'm up to 51 people who I think will likely seek the presidency," she said. mentioning in particular Virginia lieutenant governor-elect Justin Fairfax, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and California Sen. Kamala Harris. "It's time for this new generation of Democrats to step up. Visibility is viability. If you want to run, run."