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The debate will take place Feb. 4 | AP Photo MSNBC, Union Leader team up for unsanctioned Democratic debate

The Democratic debate schedule appeared to be upended on Tuesday by the addition of an unsanctioned MSNBC and New Hampshire Union Leader debate scheduled for February, but the Democratic National Committee responded hours later by saying it had no plans to sanction it — throwing into question whether Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders would attend.

The debate, moderated by "Meet the Press" anchor Chuck Todd and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow is set to take place Feb. 4 and would be the only debate between the Iowa caucus and before primary voting in New Hampshire on Feb. 9, the newspaper announced.

"Our readers have demanded a debate to help them see who is most fit to be the Democratic nominee for President," Joseph W. McQuaid, president and publisher of the Union Leader said in a statement. "We were always concerned that this would have been the first time in 32 years without a Democratic debate before the New Hampshire primary. We are glad to partner with MSNBC to ensure Granite Staters have the information they need to make a critical decision on Feb. 9."

But a few hours later, the DNC countered with a statement from chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

“Our next DNC-sanctioned debate featuring our major candidates will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin hosted by PBS on February 11th, with another already scheduled for March 9th with Univision and the Washington Post,” Wasserman Schultz said. “We have no plans to sanction any further debates before the upcoming First in the Nation caucuses and primary, but will reconvene with our campaigns after those two contests to review our schedule."

That statement landed minutes after Clinton’s communications director Jennifer Palmieri said the front-runner would be happy to participate in the proposed debate if the other candidates joined, thereby allowing it to be sanctioned.

But with no prospects of such a sanction, and no commitment yet from Sanders, it seems unlikely that the front-runner Clinton would participate — even though members of her team have recently warmed to the idea of holding more debates after being opposed to the idea at first.

Sanders is the one candidate who has not indicated any willingness to participate.

The move comes as the Democratic National Committee has faced withering criticisms over their debate schedule, which has just six debates, three of which were scheduled over weekends, and after months of pressure from local Democrats, who have urged the DNC to add more events.

But the move — which was driven by the media organizers, said people close to the planning — also comes as some operatives near Clinton’s operation have quietly second-guessed their initial wish to hold fewer debates, now that Clinton has performed well in the events so far while remaining in tight contests with Sanders.

NBC was especially eager to hold the event, said individuals briefed on the planning, after the Republican National Committee barred them from hosting its scheduled GOP primary debate.

Still, despite the flurry of releases on Tuesday, details of the event have yet to be ironed out.

By the exclusivity rules set out by the DNC, any candidate who participates in an unsanctioned debate could be barred from the remaining sanctioned DNC debates — a Feb. 11 one hosted by PBS in Wisconsin, and the final debate on March 9 hosted by Univision and the Washington Post in Florida. Forums, such as the one hosted by CNN on Monday, don't count as debates because of the different set ups in how candidates speak and interact with one another. But it is unclear if this rule would be enforced for this debate. Candidates have yet to confirm whether they will attend the event, though O’Malley's campaign immediately released a statement cheering the announcement.

Sanders' camp, for example, had yet to receive the invitation letter by early Tuesday evening, said two individuals familiar with the planning process.

New Hampshire Debates, a group of party leaders and activists in the state that has agitated for more events with moves like a prominent letter to the Union Leader last Sunday, urged all three candidates to accept the invitations once they arrived.

In an interview McQuaid said he doubts the DNC would bar the candidates from future debates if all three accept the MSNBC/Union Leader debate invitation.

"They could bar the candidates but after Iowa I think everything is going to be changed and up in the air and I can’t imagine that the DNC, no matter who’s camp they may be in would prevent this from happening. New Hampshire is going to be, I think more decisive than usual on the Democratic side," McQuaid said.

McQuaid, who stressed executive editor Trent Spiner did most of the organizing with MSNBC, said that he expects all three candidates to attend though he won't be surprised if they don't make a final decision about attending until after the Iowa caucus.

O’Malley only barely made the polling threshold for NBC’s last debate in Iowa, and he has been polling worse in New Hampshire than the first-caucusing state.

"All three of candidates, but especially the two main contenders there, Clinton and Sanders, are going to want to state their case before the New Hampshire voters," McQuaid said.

This story has been updated throughout.