Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez ran into trouble Sunday after insisting that the party has “never hesitated to take action” on misconduct allegations against Democratic officials, including DNC deputy chair Keith Ellison.
Mr. Perez defended the DNC’s refusal to call for the resignation of Mr. Ellison over his ex-girlfriend’s domestic-abuse accusation, arguing that the Democratic Party has a better record of dealing with such charges than does the GOP.
“What I say is that we should always take those complaints seriously and we do, and that’s why an investigation was conducted, that’s why Congressman Ellison asked for a House Ethics investigation,” Mr. Perez told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “And Democrats have never hesitated to take action, unlike Republicans.”
An incredulous Tapper responded, “Wait a second, Democrats have never hesitated to take action? Do you mean in the last year, or do you mean historically? Because historically, I could go through a list of people.”
Mr. Perez cited the December 2017 resignation of Sen. Al Franken, Minnesota Democrat, over allegations of groping and inappropriate conduct, arguing that “Democrats didn’t hesitate to do something even it was difficult, because it was the right thing to do.”
Mr. Tapper replied, “Oh, you mean like in the last year. You’re not talking about Ted Kennedy or President Bill Clinton or — I only have a couple minutes left.” – READ MORE