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Wasserman Schultz: Jeh Johnson Testimony on DNC Hack 'Wrong in Every Respect,' 'Utterly Misinformed'

June 22, 2017

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) said Thursday that Jeh Johnson's congressional testimony on the Democratic National Committee's computer hack is "wrong in every respect" and "utterly misinformed."

"He's wrong in every respect," Schultz told CNN's Kate Bolduan. "Let me be very clear. At no point during my tenure at the DNC was I contacted by the FBI, DHS, or any government agency, or alerted or made aware that they believed that the Russians, an enemy state, was intruding on our network."

Her statement came after Johnson, who served as the secretary of homeland security during the Obama administration, testified to lawmakers this week that the DNC rejected his agency's offer to protect its network despite receiving warnings about a hack. The DNC opted for an outside cyber security firm to help solve the computer hacks that led to WikiLeaks publishing thousands of its emails.

Bolduan asked Schultz, who served as DNC chair at the time, how both accounts could be true.

"Secretary Johnson says DNC rebuffed the help offered. You are saying no one contacted you," Bolduan said.

"Secretary Johnson is utterly misinformed. That is simply not accurate," Schultz said.

The former DNC chair then blamed the FBI and other federal agencies for not stepping in.

"They left the Russians on our network for more than—for almost a year before we discovered that they were there," she said.

Schultz stepped down as DNC chair after the party's convention last summer when leaked emails revealed her and other officials showing favoritism for Hillary Clinton.