May 21 (UPI) — Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin on Thursday released the long-awaited autopsy report about the party’s loss in the 2024 election, though he added a caveat that he doesn’t stand behind it.
The report was first given to the DNC last fall, but Martin decided not to release it to the public. He published a letter Thursday explaining his reasons.
“When I commissioned a comprehensive review of the 2024 election, I started a process to answer those questions while interrogating where our party has systemically and historically fallen short,” Martin said in the letter.
“When I received the report late last year, it wasn’t ready for primetime. Not even close. And because no source material was provided, fixing it would have meant starting over, from the beginning — every conversation, every interview, every data set.
Another reason he said didn’t release it last fall was because he didn’t want to create a distraction after Democrats’ November wins.
“Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize,” Martin said.
“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards. I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it.
“But transparency is paramount. So, today I am releasing the report as I received it — in its entirety, unedited and unabridged — with annotations for claims that couldn’t be verified.”
The report was written by Paul Rivera, a Democratic strategist, whom Martin had hand-picked for the job.
The DNC asked for, but didn’t get, a list of people interviewed for the report, a source with knowledge of what happened told NBC News. The source also said the committee didn’t get transcripts or notes of interviews, though it had requested them multiple times.
The annotated PDF of the report shows missing sections, such as an executive summary, and incorrect dates. The notes often point to missing data.
Martin said on a video call with DNC members that Rivera is no longer with the DNC “in any capacity,” NBC reported.
“Being a leader at any level means you own every single mistake — those of your creation and frankly those not of your creation,” Martin said on the call. “This was a major mistake. I own it, and now it’s time for us to move forward at the DNC, and I hope that you’ll move forward with me.”
RootsAction, a liberal organization, has been sending thousands of emails and letters to the DNC to demand the autopsy’s release. The organization criticized the report Thursday.
“This alleged autopsy is almost worthless,” RootsAction co-founder Jeff Cohen said in a statement. “There’s no mention of the Biden/Harris administration’s Israel policy that abetted the Gaza massacre. That cost votes, and helped Trump win.”
The organization published its own autopsy of the race.
Florida DNC member Allison Minnerly had been vocal about releasing the report.
“Ultimately while this is an unfinished report, the DNC is being forced to respond to public pressure,” Minnerly said. “Anybody who feels that organizing can be tiring and exhausting, this is proof that with consistent pressure, the status quo does have to respond. The pressure worked.”