Democrat Chair says we are not giving special treatment to Hillary Clinton

The head of the Democratic National Committee said there is nothing “sinister” in the way she has scheduled debates

The Democratic National Committee has been accused of putting Bernie Sanders in the shadows (Getty)

The head of the Democratic National Committee said there was "nothing sinister" in the way she scheduled the Democratic debates and she does not favour either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz has drawn criticism for scheduling only six Democratic debates - versus 12 for the Republicans - and holding them over the weekends when the public is less likely to watch them and therefore has less opportunity to become familiar with candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley.

A New York Times editorial wrote on Monday: “Her efforts to grease every wheel for Hillary Clinton are a disservice to the party, the nation and even to Clinton.”

A RootsAction.org petition to oust Mrs Schultz from the DNC has gathered more than 30,000 signatures.

Speaking in an interview in Lenny’s letter, a newsletter created by TV show Girls producers Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner, Mrs Schultz said she does not wish she had done anything differently.

She said did the “best she could” to give candidates exposure.

“I understand that people will see sinister things behind the debate-schedule format or about how the data-breach issue played out. They are incorrect, but I understand why that would be their perception.”

Tensions have been simmering between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for months.

Mrs Schultz was also criticized for Bernie Sanders being banned from accessing voters’ data due to a security breach within his campaign.

The congresswoman who was the youngest female legislator in Florida’s history, said there were “too many” debates - 26 - in 2008.

She added that people think she is on Mrs Clinton’s side as she was one of the national co-chairs for her Presidential campaign in 2008, but that is not the case.

“I get that Bernie Sanders’s supporters are concerned that somehow this is going to hold their candidate back — the smaller number of debates,” she said. ”But their candidate is doing quite well with our debate schedule.

“That’s because he has had, as all of our candidates have had, a variety of opportunities to build a network and a campaign and get the message out. It’s my job to preserve that variety of opportunities," she added.

Mrs Schultz said all of the Democratic candidates talk about subjects like Planned Parenthood, the Affordable Care Act and climate change that are “not on the Republican agenda”.