NEW YORK CITY — A new batch of hacked emails released by WikiLeaks shows more behind-the-scenes tension between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
The new emails show that de Blasio criticized Clinton's response to the issue of mass incarceration during a debate with her former rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, saying she was focusing too much on herself.
"Hillary was fantastic on the gun control answer, then totally blew the mass incarceration question. Why on Earth did she say 'Are you going to ask Senator Sanders that question?' instead of just addressing the issue," de Blasio wrote in a March 6, 2016, email to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta the same night of the debate, which was held in Michigan.
"When she makes it about her, she loses the high ground. Stating the obvious, I know, but she keeps doing it," de Blasio wrote.
Clinton has been criticized for the criminal justice policies of her husband, which she has endorsed. The laws, enacted in the 1990s, put more people behind bars than ever.
The hacked emails are from Podesta's account. The U.S. government has accused Russia of hacking high-level emails of members of the Democratic Party.
A batch of Podesta emails released Monday show Clinton aides acting wary of de Blasio and planning to keep him at a distance, despite him telling top Clinton aide Huma Abedin that he wanted "increased direct access" to the candidate.
The new emails show that the mayor also sought Clinton's support for his attempt to become the leading voice for progressive politics in the country, even as he met with Sen. Sanders, who is largely credited with pulling Clinton to the left.
De Blasio managed Clinton's 2000 run for U.S. Senate, but failed to immediately endorse her when she announced her candidacy for president, saying that he wanted to see a progressive vision from her.
The mayor and his wife, Chirlane McCray, launched the Progressive Agenda Committee and were planning to host a presidential forum in Iowa to bring progressive issues such as raising the minimum wage to the fore of the presidential campaign.
The non-endorsement put de Blasio on the outs with the Clinton campaign.
De Blasio sought to have Clinton attend the forum, emails show, even as he was planning a meeting with Sanders. De Blasio also kept the Clinton campaign abreast of what he planned to tell Sanders even though he had yet to endorse her.
"As I mentioned to Robby, I accepted Bernie Sanders' request for a mtg today. Will try to keep it low-key but assume it will leak out. My message to him (saying this in confidence to you) is that I will always want to work with him in the future and will never have a bad word about him, but won't be supporting him in this campaign," de Blasio wrote to the Clinton campaign on Sept. 18, 2015.
"I will ask him (as I have you guys) to participate in our Progressive Agenda forum (NOT debate — one candidate on stage at a time) in Iowa re: income inequality. But I quietly first want to see what date works for you guys before locking anything down," the mayor added.
Other emails released earlier show that Podesta and the Clinton campaign had no interest in the mayor's Progressive Agenda Committee.
"Should we care about this?" Podesta asked Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress. Tanden replied that she was receiving no political pressure to join de Blasio's campaign.
"I’m not sweating it," Tanden replied.
De Blasio, in writing to the Clinton campaign, informed them of a pending visit to ABC's "Sunday Morning This Week" with George Stephanopoulos and the terms he planned to use to discuss Clinton.
"Shockingly, George insists on talking about the presidential horse race. Therefore I will: Have lots of praise for Hillary and her increasingly clear, strong agenda. Will say her campaign is doing much better than the conventional wisdom recognizes. Will praise bernie's ideas if asked," the mayor wrote.
De Blasio also said he would explain why he had yet to endorse Clinton.
"If asked what's holding me up on Hillary, I'll allude to The Progressive Agenda and a few areas where I'm seeking clarification," the mayor wrote.
A spokesman for de Blasio did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Christina Greer, a professor of political science at Fordham University, said the emails reveal a level of hubris on the mayor's part.
"There was a miscalculation as to whom needed whom. This is a person who gave you your start and now she's running for president. Instead of citing your strategy for a progressive agenda you need to pull back and let the campaign say what they need from you," Greer said.
De Blasio has seemingly worked his way back to helping the Clinton campaign, traveling for them and acting as a surrogate on talk shows.
But it's not clear if the mayor will ever be fully back in Clinton's good graces.
"Do you ever really make your way back after wronging the Clintons? He has to figure that out in years to come," Greer said. "But you can't ever ask Hillary Clinton to kiss a ring that she bought you."
