It was convened by Ben Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett and included representatives from all the campaigns, except Carly Fiorina's.

The principle objective was achieving greater control in determining debate criteria with the media sponsors -- a role that until now has been held by the RNC. The campaigns have grown frustrated with the RNC's handling of the process, especially in the wake of CNBC's messy handling of the third GOP debate last week.

But while several campaigns advocated for relegating the RNC to handling logistics, ticketing and other mundane matters, there is no indication that the campaigns actually intend to remove the RNC from the negotiating table.

"While debates are meant to include tough questions and contrast candidates’ visions and policies for the future of America, CNBC’s moderators engaged in a series of 'gotcha' questions, petty and mean-spirited in tone, and designed to embarrass our candidates," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus wrote in a letter to NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack. 

Since CNBC is an NBC Universal property, "We are suspending the partnership with NBC News” for its Feb. 26 debate. 

Priebus’s email panned CNBC for "inaccurate or downright offensive" questions, specifically singling out a question to Donald Trump, who was asked whether he was running a "comic book" version of a presidential campaign.    

The meeting also exposed a leadership rift that has widened in recent days between the Republican National Committee, which negotiated the debate schedule and formats, and some of the candidates. RNC officials said they would not participate in Sunday’s meeting, but they have been reassuring campaign operatives that they are willing to recalibrate the events.

Shortly before the meeting began, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus announced a staff shake-up within the GOP that appeared intended to calm the unhappiness of the presidential campaigns.

As the meeting got underway, senior strategists from several presidential campaigns revealed in e-mails and text messages that Priebus’s staff shake-up was not enough. One campaign manager, speaking about the private meeting on the condition of anonymity, wrote: “Major question is if the RNC should be involved at all.”

The campaigns reached an early consensus on one issue, according to several operatives in the room: the secure standing of Fox News Channel. Any changes would be applied to debates after next week’s Fox Business Network debate. Among the reasons, according to one operative in the room, was that “people are afraid to make Roger (Ailes) mad,” a reference to the network’s chief.
(snip)
As they left the hotel, Republican aides said reporters should expect the campaigns to release a joint letter addressed to the television networks by Tuesday. It will list what the campaigns want for the upcoming debates and was agreed to before the meeting ended. Campaigns will have Monday to review it a final time and formally sign off.

But GOP campaigns are worried with Ginsberg inserting himself into the process that whatever comes out of this event may end up being worse than it was going in.

“It’s like letting the devil run Bible study,” one senior GOP operative with one GOP campaign told Breitbart News when asked for reaction to the news that Ginsberg was involved.

That’s because Ginsberg has a troubling history of gaming the process to help the Washington establishment crush conservatives. As the establishment in 2012, run by allies of then-GOP nominee Mitt Romney, made several changes to RNC rules, Ginsberg ran point.