A Clinton campaign official avoided answering questions Monday about whether his team planned to prop up former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley in the Democratic primary so as to undercut support for Clinton’s chief rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

CNN’s Ashleigh Banfield tried in an interview to see if John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president, would comment on reports his team is moving to keep O’Malley in the game long enough that his supporters don’t switch over Sanders, boosting the Vermont lawmaker’s already surprisingly impressive numbers.