Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Sunday she did not know the political affiliation of Priorities USA, an Obama-affiliated super PAC run by a former Obama White House staffer.
"I have no idea the political affiliation of the folks who are associated with that super PAC," Wasserman Schultz said in an interview with Fox News Sunday.
Priorities USA released a controversial ad last week, which suggests Mitt Romney may be responsible for a woman's death from cancer. The super PAC is managed by a former Obama White House staffer and funded by major Democratic donors that include Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and outsourcing pioneer Irwin Jacobs.
Wasserman Schultz said on Twitter after the show that she misspoke during the interview.
"Clearly Priorities USA is a Democratic SuperPAC. Was trying to state the obvious: we have no control over their activities," she tweeted.
FOX: You probably saw, we were talking with John McCain a few minutes ago. We played a little bit of that Priorities USA ad. Should the Democrats be releasing an ad that accuses a presidential candidate of being—through inference—of being responsible for a woman’s death?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: First of all, that’s a Priorities USA—
FOX: I understand.
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: It’s not a Democratic ad. It’s a Priorities USA super PAC ad, which we have nothing to do with it.
FOX: Do you deny that they’re Democrats?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I have no idea the political affiliation of the folks who are associated with that super PAC.
FOX: Bill Burton, who used to work at the White House, worked for the Obama campaign in 2008?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: That is a super PAC ad that is not affiliated with our campaign or the party.
FOX: What did you think of the ad?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: What I think of the ad is that there’s no question that the ad raises facts, such as that Mitt Romney, when he was CEO of Bain Capital, bankrupted companies, laid off workers, cut their benefits, and made millions of dollars in profit. That ad points out that there are consequences to making decisions like that, that impact people’s lives in a significant way.
FOX: But this idea that the timeline of the ad is such, that the direct inference is that because this man lost his health insurance, his wife died from cancer, really does not appear to be the case. She had her own insurance—with her own employment—lost that insurance, and it was six years later.
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: It’s really interesting that there is no indignation and the hypocrisy that exists—where is the indignation on the other side that super PACs affiliated with Mitt Romney’s campaign or in support of Mitt Romney’s campaign have run—
FOX: I don’t think they’ve inferred that someone’s died.