Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez on Thursday brushed off a claim from former DNC Chairwoman Donna Brazile, who wrote that Hillary Clinton's campaign completely co-opted the DNC in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Brazile said Clinton's move looked "unethical" to her, as it gave Clinton full control over DNC hiring decisions, to the likely detriment of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was trying to win the nomination over Clinton.

But Perez dodged most of the controversy and said the DNC was looking to improve in time for the 2020 election.

"Hey, we're moving forward," he said when asked about Brazile's charge. "We're building, you know, I've been asked that question a number of times since I started."



"One of my goals here as DNC chair is to make sure that the nominating process... for 2020 is a process that's totally fair and transparent for everybody," he said. "That's what we're fighting for, that's what we will do."

Brazile said normally, the DNC would only start working closely with the candidate who secures the nomination, but would stay neutral until then.

But she wrote of Clinton that under the deal that was reached, the DNC was "required to consult with the [Clinton] campaign about all other staffing, budgeting, data, analytics, and mailing."

Brazile called the deal a form of "corruption" that she regretted discovering.

Perez did give a nod to Brazile's complaint by saying the DNC would set up a debate schedule for 2020 before knowing who any of the candidates are.

"We have to make sure that everything is fair and open, and everybody has a fair shake, and that's what we're going to do," he said.

Perez said incorrectly last week that the Electoral College is not a "creation of the Constitution." But both Article II and the 12th Amendment to the Constitution describe the process of having electors meet to vote for the president, based on the results in each state.