Rep. Tulsi Gabbard explained why she filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton for suggesting she was a “Russian asset” back in October.
Gabbard, who is seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, filed the suit on Wednesday and released a lengthy statement deriding the party’s former nominee Thursday morning.
“During my lifetime of service to our country, Hillary Clinton has essentially tried to portray me as a traitor to our country. If Hillary Clinton and her allies can successfully destroy my reputation — even though I’m a war veteran and a sitting member of Congress — then they can do it to anyone,” she wrote.
“In fact, that’s exactly the message Hillary and her powerful elite friends want to send to you. Hillary Clinton and her allies want you to know that if you dare to cross them, they will destroy your reputation as well,” she continued.
My statement on defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton. https://t.co/HJ4x6OqXCN #StandWithTulsi pic.twitter.com/WQChk5gLgy
— Tulsi Gabbard ? (@TulsiGabbard) January 23, 2020
Gabbard went on to call Clinton’s remarks a “blatant effort to intimidate me” and said she will not allow it to “go unchallenged.” Her statement came after she addressed the lawsuit during a town hall Wednesday night, telling voters, “I will not stand quietly by as Hillary Clinton or anyone else tries to smear my character and my loyalty and dedication to serving our country.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, notes that it is intended to hold Clinton and other “political elites” accountable “for distorting the truth in the middle of a critical presidential election.” It stems from comments Clinton made during an October podcast when she claimed Gabbard was a “Russian asset” and that the Kremlin was pushing her presidential bid to ensure President Trump’s reelection.
“They are also going to do third party again, and I’m not making any predictions, but I think they got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate,” she said, before calling 2016 Green Party candidate Jill Stein a “Russian asset,” as well.
Facing backlash afterward, Clinton claimed she meant the GOP was “grooming Tulsi, not Russia.” Unsatisfied with the explanation, Gabbard’s attorneys demanded that Clinton retract her statements in a November letter. Meanwhile, Nick Merrill, an aide to Clinton, quipped, “If the nesting doll fits,” during the height of the backlash.
“This is not some outlandish claim,” Merrill added. “This is reality. If the Russian propaganda machine, both their state media and their bot and troll operations, is backing a candidate aligned with their interests, that is just a reality, it is not speculation.”
Gabbard, a major in the Hawaii Army National Guard, serves on the House Armed Services and Financial Services Committees. She was previously a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Homeland Security Committee.
