Tulsi Gabbard sues Hillary Clinton for $50M alleging defamation for 'Russian asset' smear during podcast
Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard filed a $50 million lawsuit against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, claiming that the former first lady had defamed her when she called her a "Russian asset" during a podcast interview in October 2019.
The lawsuit, filed in US district court in New York, stated: "Clinton lied about her perceived rival Tulsi Gabbard. She did so publicly, unambiguously, and with obvious malicious intent. Tulsi has been harmed by Clinton’s lies — and American democracy has suffered as well," Fox Business reported.
Clinton, while appearing on former President Barack Obama aide David Plouffe’s “Campaign HQ” podcast in October, had said she believed Russia was "grooming" a Democratic Party candidate to give up their primary bid and run for president as a third-party candidate. The former first lady, however, did not take any names or accused Gabbard directly. The 2016 Democratic nominee said that Russia has "got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate." Clinton added: "She’s the favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far."
A CNN reporter had later asked Clinton's spokesperson, Nick Merril, whether Gabbard, a four-term congresswoman from Hawaii, was the candidate the former Secretary of State was referring to, he responded with: "If the nesting doll fits."
Clinton's remarks had evoked responses in defense of Gabbard from fellow Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders and even President Donald Trump, who said that her former political rival "had gone crazy!"
"So now Crooked Hillary is at it again! She is calling Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard 'a Russian favorite,' and Jill Stein 'a Russian asset," Trump tweeted. "As you may have heard, I was called a big Russia lover also (actually, I do like Russian people. I like all people!). Hillary's gone Crazy!"
The Hawaii congresswoman's suit also suggests that Clinton targeted her with a false accusation for "retribution" over her endorsement of Sanders, Clinton's former political rival in the 2016 Democratic primary. "Tulsi was told that the Clinton team would never forget this," the suit alleged.