"I totally agree ... with the notion that the DNC fell short during critical moments of the primary," Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez said. | AP Photo Perez says DNC 'fell short' in 2016, vows increased transparency

Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez said Sunday that the committee "fell short" in earning voters' trust during the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries and pledged to push measures that would increase transparency — just days removed from a stinging critique of the process by former interim chair Donna Brazile.

Perez, responding to scathing allegations by Brazile that the Clinton campaign exerted vast control of the DNC prior to defeating Sen. Bernie Sanders' for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination for the 2016 elections, conceded that the organization had to make up ground in ensuring its constituents that the primary process was fair.


"I totally agree ... with the notion that the DNC fell short during critical moments of the primary," Perez said during a Sunday appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Perez added that for future elections the DNC planned to take steps to boost transparency, including announcing te debate schedule for the candidates well in advance of the race itself. "The number one goal has to be fairness and transparency," he said.

The Democratic National Committee chair, however, contested characterizations that the Democratic primary process was "rigged" in Clinton's favor, casting her nomination as a reflection of the will of the voters.

"When I hear the word rigged, let's be very clear: Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary by 4 million votes," he said.

In a controversial excerpt from her upcoming book published in POLITICO Magazine, Brazile cited an "unethical" agreement between the Clinton campaign and the DNC struck at the beginning of the Democratic primary that granted the eventual nominee sweeping control of the party apparatus in charging that the process was set up to heavily favor Clinton.

While Brazile tempered her claims Sunday, telling ABC she "found no evidence, none whatsoever" that the primaries were rigged, the comments reopened the scars from the bitterly divisive campaign bout between Clinton and Sanders.

In her book, Brazile reportedly also expressed doubts over Clinton's health, calling the party's handling of it "shameful" and contemplating pushing to replace the former secretary of state on the ticket with former Vice President Joe Biden.

Perez rebuked the remarks Sunday.

"The charge that Hillary Clinton was somehow incapacitated is quite frankly ludicrous," the DNC chair said.