Donna Brazile, the former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee and former CNN political analyst, will join Fox News as a contributor, the network announced Monday in a news release.
Brazile resigned from her role at CNN after reports surfaced in December 2016 that she had provided then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with advance knowledge of the questions she would be asked during a debate and a town hall televised by the cable news channel during the Democratic nominating contest. Brazile initially denied she had passed along the questions, but later admitted to leaking the information to the Clinton campaign, calling it "a mistake I will forever regret." CNN, at the time, said it did not help Brazile share questions with the Clinton campaign.
In an op-ed published Monday on FoxNews.com, Brazile wrote she hoped to improve the quality of political debate. "I am excited by the opportunity to share my perspective and views with the Fox News audience and to help shape the dialogue at this important juncture in our history," she said.
"In order for us to best decide as a people how to better protect and preserve our way of life, we need to first be able to hear what others are saying without the filter of bias and contempt," Brazile continued. "Not until we once again become practiced at treating those of differing views with civility and respect can we begin to join together to solve the myriad of problems our country must overcome."
Fox said in a statement that Brazile will "offer political analysis across both [Fox News] and Fox Business Network's daytime and primetime programming." The network noted that Brazile would make her first appearance on "The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino" Monday at 2 p.m. ET.
Brazile a;sp sought to address potential criticism from liberals about her decision to join Fox News in a statement. "I know I'm going to get criticized from my friends in the progressive movement for being on Fox News," she said. "My response is that, if we've learned anything from the 2016 election, it is that we can't have a country where we don't talk to those who disagree with our political views."
"There's an audience on Fox News that doesn't hear enough from Democrats," she continued. "We have to engage that audience and show Americans of every stripe what we stand for rather than retreat into our 'safe spaces' where we simply agree with each other. For there is no safety in self-limiting numbers."
"You can be darn sure that I'm still going to be me on Fox News," Brazile stated. "I'm going to do what I always do: and dish it out straight, exactly as I see it, with just as much New Orleans hot sauce as folks expect."
Brazile was the first African-American woman to run a presidential campaign when she served as campaign manager for Al Gore's presidential bid in 2000. Gore's opponent, then-Texas Governor George W. Bush, a Republican, narrowly won the election.
Brazile will not be involved with any debates or town halls at Fox News, a source told the Associated Press.
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