US Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard Sues Hillary Clinton For Dubbing Her 'Russian Asset'

During an hour-long podcast with David Plouffe last October, 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton claimed that Tulsi Gabbard, a United States Congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate, was a third-party "favourite" of Moscow.

Lawyers of 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard filed a defamation lawsuit this Wednesday against failed 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for "deliberately and maliciously" making false statements to derail Gabbard's presidential campaign by alleging that the latter is a "Russian asset."

"Gabbard, a U.S. Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district, asserts in her complaint that Clinton deliberately and maliciously made false statements in an attempt to derail Rep. Gabbard’s campaign, by alleging that Gabbard is a 'Russian asset'," the statement published on the website of the 2020 presidential candidate reads.

The incident emerged in October, after Hilary Clinton claimed during a David Plouffe’s podcast that "somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary … [is a] favourite of the Russians… Yeah, she’s a Russian asset."

Following the podcast, US media republished the words, which were widely interpreted as if Clinton were speaking about Gabbard.

In mid-November, Gabbard's lawyers sent letters to Clinton's representatives demanding that the 2016 presidential nominee retract the allegations.