"Well, clearly this email scandal has certainly upset many people Rightly so," Jeff Weaver said. Sanders camp on DWS: We 'cannot guarantee how our people will respond'

Outgoing Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz should consider not appearing on stage to gavel in the party convention Monday afternoon out of a concern for party unity, Bernie Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver suggested.

Noting the desire by Democrats to put up a “unified front in Philadelphia, Weaver told MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports“ that the convention should avoid anything that would detract from that message.


As far as whether that would mean a no-show by Wasserman Schultz, who announced her resignation Sunday after a trove of leaked emails showed her mocking the Sanders campaign, Weaver indicated that might be the best outcome.

“Well, clearly, this email scandal has certainly upset many people. Rightly so,” Weaver said. “You know, as you know, when we complained about a bias of the DNC throughout the campaign. She had said that she’s going to step down. I think that was the right thing to do. I think it’s time for the party to move forward, to have a clean slate, and I think the sooner we can get to that, the better.”

Should Wasserman Schultz decide to take the stage at Wells Fargo Center, Weaver said Sanders’ team “would certainly encourage people to be respectful.”

“But I have to tell you, it may be a very difficult situation, Andrea, given the emails that we’ve seen and given the conduct over the course of the campaign,” Weaver explained. “I think there is a lot of justifiable upset about the way things were handled at the DNC. So we would certainly encourage people to be respectful, but I certainly cannot guarantee how our people will respond.”