1st LD Writethru: U.S. Dem National Committee Chair to resign after party's convention

U.S. Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced Sunday she would resign at the end of the party's convention, amid furor over leaked emails showing DNC's bias against presidential contender Bernie Sanders.

Donna Brazile,the DNC's vice chairwoman, will step in as interim chairwoman, DNC communications director Luis Miranda tweeted. Brazile previously ran Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign and is a regular on cable news.

"The best way for me to accomplish those goals (of this election cycle) is to step down as Party Chair at the end of this convention. As Party Chair, this week I will open and close the Convention and I will address our delegates about the stakes involved in this election not only for Democrats, but for all Americans," Wasserman Schultz wrote in a statement.

"We have planned a great and unified convention this week and I hope and expect that the DNC team that has worked so hard to get us to this point will have the strong support of all Democrats in making sure this is the best convention we have ever had," she said.

Schultz's announcement came amid a scandal involving the leaked emails from the DNC, which exposed its staff members favored Hillary Clinton over Sanders in the heated primary contest.

The DNC staff members reportedly covertly tried to push false stories about Sanders and question his religious belief.

Sanders, who has repeatedly called on Schultz to step down, reiterated his call in an interview with CNN on Sunday, saying he believed that the DNC was supporting Hillary Clinton and "at opposition to our campaign all along."

Shortly after Wasserman Schultz announced her move, President Barack Obama and the Clinton campaign released statements respectively to express their gratitude for the DNC chair's work.

Obama said "her leadership of the DNC has meant that we had someone who brought Democrats together."

For her part, Clinton praised Schultz, who she called as a "longtime friend," for her leadership, saying there's "simply no one better at taking the fight to the Republicans than Debbie."

Schultz will serve as honorary chair of the Clinton campaign's "50-state program to gain ground and elect Democrats in every part of the country," Clinton added.

Republican nominee Donald Trump responded with a tweet: "Today proves what I have always known, that @Reince Priebus is the tough one and the smart one, not Debbie Wasserman Shultz"

The four-day Democratic National Convention will kick off on Monday in Philadelphia, where Clinton is expected to be officially announced as the party's nominee and Sanders will also make a speech calling for the party's unity. Endit